Amanda Nunes Denies She’s Fighting on UFC’s May 9th Show

Dana White said he’s planning for Amanda Nunes to defend the women’s bantamweight title at the UFC’s return card on May 9th, but Nunes herself has denied she’s on the card. White was planning for Nunes to defend her title against Felicia Spencer as one of three title fights on the show. Speaking with CBS Sports, Nunes said she wasn’t going to do it.

“Actually, I’m not fighting May 9,” Nunes said. “I’m going to fight, [but] I don’t know yet. I don’t think this is the right time for me right now to fight. Let this coronavirus pass a little bit so I can at least have a full camp. We can maybe see around June, [but] let’s see what is going to happen. But I’m not fighting [May 9].”

Nunes did say that she was looking forward to facing Spencer, saying, “I like this matchup a lot. I like to fight girls like her — tough, want to fight all the time, she’s not a running fighter. She’s really going to bring that and I love it. That brings out the best in me.”

White had also targeted Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title and Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz for bantamweight title for the show, which would be the UFC’s first fight since the COVID-19 pandemic swung into full gear.