On Saturday night, Amanda Nunes held tears back as a journey that she has been on for 10 years finally reached its destination. With a quick and violent submission of Miesha Tate, she became the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. And as important of a milestone as it was for her personally, it was also a historic moment for the LGBT community as well, as Nunes became the first openly gay champion in UFC history.
“It is amazing!” Nunes said with a huge smile when asked about the accomplishment during the UFC 200 post-event press conference. But more important than her accomplishments as a member of the gay community was the peace she feels inside of her from being herself.
“The most important thing is I’m happy with my life,” Nunes said. “This is the most important thing.”
Nunes is currently dating fellow UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, but the two are in different weight classes so there’s no chance they’d ever have to fight. Amanda gave Nina a lot of credit for helping her train for Miesha Tate.
“Nina is the best training partner I have ever had in my life. This girl is going to be the next UFC champion. Look at her, she’s shy. This girl has so many talents, and she’s gonna be back in the cage soon and she’s going to show everybody she’s gonna be the next champion of the UFC. And she means everything to me. This girl, she helps me with everything. And I love her.”