“I really feel very good right now. Strong, powerful and ready to go.”
Fans need not worry about UFC women’s two-division champion Amanda Nunes losing some of her power after dropping down from featherweight to defend her bantamweight title against Holly Holm, as ‘The Lioness’ claims to have gained ‘extra power’ in preparation for UFC 239.
Speaking to MMA Heat to promote her championship bout with Holm, Nunes said she is stronger than ever and in the best shape of her career.
“I still have the power, for sure, because I was [already] happy with my 135-pound fights,” Nunes said, per Abhinav Kini of The Body Lock MMA. “And going up, training heavy and coming down is giving me extra power. I really feel very good right now. Strong, powerful and ready to go.”
Speaking of her opponent, Holm, Nunes said she expects the former women’s bantamweight champ to be on the back foot and play the points game at UFC 239.
“Holly has very good movement,” Nunes said. “She moves a lot, she goes in and out. I know she’s going to look to outpoint me. Try to hold me against the cage… because all my opponents think that.
“I feel like she’s going to run, run, run and play the point, point, point until she finds the right moment. She has very good kicks. I have to be ready for everything in this fight. Holly’s very tough and dangerous. I’m like really, really ready for everything she’s going to bring on the night.”
Nunes, who last fought at UFC 232 where she KO’d Cris Cyborg to win the featherweight title, will take on ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ in the co-main event of UFC 239. The highly anticipated pay-per-view, which features a headlining light heavyweight championship tilt between Jon Jones and Thiago Santos, takes place next month, July 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.