On Saturday night [July 9, 2016] Amanda Nunes made history in the UFC women’s division when she defeated former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate with a rear naked choke to become the new champion. It all went down at UFC 200, one of the biggest events in the history of the UFC. The card was packed with some of mixed martial arts biggest stars but the real star of the night was Nunes.
Not only was this a big night for Nunes because she won the title after going into the fight as the underdog. She also made history by being the first openly gay UFC champion. In addition to that, she’s also the first Brazilian woman to ever win a UFC championship belt.
Nunes was extremely dominant from the start of the match, landing hard blows to Tate’s head that had visible impact on her opponents ability to perform. Tate tried her best to protect herself from the onslaught of punches but was not successful and she was eventually hit with a hard knee to the face. After a desperate attempt to take Nunes to the ground, Tate was mounted and put in the rear naked choke that led to her tapping out shorty after.
After the fight, the ladies respectfully embraced and Nunes had her post fight in-ring interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan. She was very emotional and expressed her excitement to get back home to Brasil to celebrate her incredible win with her family. It was a great moment to witness for fans of the sport. The real challenge will be Nunes next fight. The two women’s bantamweight champions prior to Nunes both lost the title on their first defense of it. It’s up to Amanda to break that chain and defend her championship with success. It’s celebration time for now though, congratulations to Amanda Nunes for making history!
