Ahead of Amanda Nunes’ first UFC featherweight title defense in 2020, history was made by one gutsy fan.
In just a few weeks’ time, Amanda Nunes returns to the sport when she takes on Kayla Harrison for the UFC women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 324 co-main event.
‘The Lioness’ retired from action back in 2023 following another successful title defense against Irene Aldana. But even after she announced her retirement, it didn’t seem as though her time in the sport was definitely over.
And then when the promotion announced the signing of Harrison, the Brazilian made it clear that she wanted to return to take on her longtime rival.
Ahead of her return fight, there is seemingly a lot of pressure on Nunes to perform, which is something she has become accustomed to throughout her career.
Should this fight be at 145lbs instead?
Nunes had a huge $1 million distraction ahead of her first 145lb title defense
A large majority of the UFC fanbase regards Nunes as the greatest female fighter of all time, not only because of some of the names she holds wins over, but also because of the fact that she completed the double champion feat.
In 2018, she knocked out Cris Cyborg, who was one of the most feared champions in the sport at the time, completing the feat.
Instead of immediately dropping one of her titles like many other double champions did at that time, she vowed to defend both titles simultaneously.
And after two more successful defenses of her bantamweight strap, she was booked to make the first defense of her 145lb title against Felicia Spencer in 2020.
Because of her sheer dominance up to that point, ‘The Lioness’ entered the fight as a huge betting favorite, closing at around -650.
And one fan was so sure that the Brazilian would continue her great run, that he wagered a whopping $1 million bet that Nunes would retain her title, making history as the biggest MMA bet in history. With a win, Nunes would earn the Nevada bettor $166,666.70.
Fortunately for the gutsy bettor, Nunes went on to put on a flawless performance, leaving Spencer a bloody mess with a unanimous decision win.
Nunes reacted to the historic bet following her fight
Nunes was unaware of the historic bet placed on her until after the fight.
“Awesome,” she described the bet in an interview with ESPN.
“Now he’s very happy. He’ll probably, like, go and drink something. He should ask me to go with him.”
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