Amanda Nunes' next fight: When is 'The Lioness' fighting next?

Amanda Nunes doesn’t currently have her next UFC fight scheduled.

‘The Lioness’ last fought in July 2022 against Julianna Pena, winning by unanimous decision. Nunes regained the UFC women’s bantamweight championship after shockingly losing the title to Pena at UFC 269. Now that she’s reclaimed her throne, the question is, what’s next for the two-division world champion?

Since losing in the championship rematch, Pena has been advocating for a trilogy fight against Nunes. Although ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has a solid argument for deserving an immediate rematch, the MMA community doesn’t seem overly interested in the proposed matchup.

If Pena doesn’t get a rematch against Nunes, there are two potential title challengers for ‘The Lioness.’ The first would be Raquel Pennington, who is coming off a split-decision win against number No. 3-ranked Ketlen Viera. Pennington is the No. 2-ranked women’s bantamweight, and she’s currently on a five-fight win streak.

The second most likely option would be Irene Aldana, whose last fight was a third-round knockout against Macy Chiasson. Although Pennington’s recent resume is more impressive, Aldana is arguably a tougher stylistic matchup for Nunes. The Mexican-born fighter is also more likely to fight for the featherweight title, which 'The Lioness' hasn't defended since March 2021

Another possible option would be Valentina Shevchenko. With that said, Shevchenko recently lost the UFC women’s flyweight championship against Alexa Grasso, and she plans to pursue an immediate rematch. Nunes also holds two wins against ‘Bullet,’ making most people uninterested in the trilogy fight.

Watch Valentina Shevchenko discuss fighting Amanda Nunes again below:

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Is Amanda Nunes the greatest female fighter of all time?

Three fighters are usually in the women’s MMA GOAT debate: Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko and Cris Cyborg. Considering Nunes holds two wins against Shevchenko and a first-round knockout against Cyborg, it’s difficult to argue against ‘The Lioness’ being the female GOAT.

Nunes made her UFC debut in 2013 with a 7-3 record. After winning two fights with the promotion, she lost for the first time under the UFC banner against Cat Zingano. ‘The Lioness’ didn’t lose again until she fought Julianna Pena in 2021, winning 12 consecutive fights.

Nunes trained at American Top Team for most of her career. She decided to part ways with the world-renowned gym before the Pena rematch. ‘The Lioness’ now plans to train at a personal gym for the foreseeable future.