Nina Ann Nunes (; born December 3, 1985) is an American former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who most competed in the women's flyweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Nunes was born and raised in Weston, Florida. Her maternal grandparents descend from

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. Nunes started practicing Taekwondo at the age of 6. She wrestled while at Lake Region High School. She began training in mixed martial arts in 2009 as a way to lose weight and to help keep in shape following a motorcycle accident.

Mixed martial arts career

Nunes made her professional debut in 2010 competing in regional promotions, and amassed a record of 5–3 before joining

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

Invicta FC

Nunes made her promotional debut against Munah Holland on December 7, 2013 at Invicta FC 7. Nunes won the fight via TKO in the third round and earned the ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus award.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Nunes made her debut in the

(UFC) against Juliana Lima on November 8, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 56 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 56'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Ginásio Municipal Tancredo Neves in Uberlândia, Brazil, on November 8, 2014. Background After previously holding even ...

. Nunes lost the fight via unanimous decision. Nunes was expected to face Rose Namajunas on May 23, 2015 at

UFC 187 ''UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 23, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then ...

. Nunes missed weight on her first attempt at the weigh-ins, coming in 4 lbs overweight at 120 lbs. After having made no attempts to cut further, she was fined 20 percent of her fight purse, which went to Namajunas. However, on the day of the event, Nunes was pulled out of the bout by UFC doctors after contracting a case of the flu. As a result, Namajunas was pulled from the event entirely. Nunes next faced

Justine Kish Svetlana Nasibulina (born 13 April 1988), known professionally by her ring name Justine Kish, is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the Flyweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2010, she has also competed in the Ult ...

UFC 195 ''UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 2, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to feature a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then-und ...

on January 2, 2016. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Nunes faced

Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Strawweight division of the UFC and has competed in Invicta. She competed at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson. On January 19, 2017, she announced her r ...

at UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn on January 15, 2017. She won the fight via submission in the third round. Nunes faced

Angela Hill Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, of which she was the strawweight champion. She is also ...

at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis on November 11, 2017. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Nunes faced

Randa Markos Randa Cemil Markos-Thomas (born August 10, 1985) is an Iraqi-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Personal life Markos wa ...

on July 28, 2018 at UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Nunes faced

Cláudia Gadelha Ana Cláudia Dantas Gadelha (; born December 7, 1988), is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 2022, Gadelha works for the Ultimate Fightin ...

on December 8, 2018 at

UFC 231 ''UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on December 8, 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Nunes faced

Tatiana Suarez Tatiana Yadira Suarez Padilla (born December 19, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist with a background in wrestling who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the strawweight ...

on June 8, 2019 at UFC 238. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. On October 10, 2019, Nunes announced that she would put her mixed martial arts career on hold in order to attempt to have her first child. The attempts were successful as in March 2020, her wife Amanda Nunes announced that the couple is expecting their first child, to be born later that year. Nina Nunes gave birth to a daughter in September 2020. Nunes faced

Mackenzie Dern Mackenzie Lynne Dern Santos (born March 24, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is a former world No. 1 ranked IBJJF competitor, currently ranked 6th among the female divisions. She is ...

on April 10, 2021 at

UFC on ABC 2 ''UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 2'' and ''UFC Vegas 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 10, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, N ...

. She lost the bout via first round armbar. Nunes was scheduled to face

Amanda Lemos Amanda Oliveira de Lemos (born May 22, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of November 8, 2022, she is #3 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings, and as o ...

on December 18, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 199 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus'' (also known as ''UFC Vegas 45'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 57'' and ''UFC Fight Night 199'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 18, 2021 at the UFC ...

. However, Nunes was removed from the bout for undisclosed reason and she was replaced by

Move up to flyweight division

Nunes was scheduled to face

Cynthia Calvillo Cynthia Tafoya Calvillo ( , born July 13, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight and flyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of August 15, 2022, she is #14 in the UFC women's flyweight ra ...

in a flyweight bout on July 9, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 39. However, the day of the event, Nunes withdrew due to illness and the bout was initially cancelled, but eventually rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 41 on August 13, 2022. Nunes won the fight via split decision, and she announced her retirement after the fight.

Personal life

Nunes is married to fellow UFC fighter

Amanda Nunes Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...

, the reigning UFC Women's Bantamweight and Featherweight champion. On March 6, 2020, she announced that she was expecting a girl, due date being in September 2020. The couple welcomed a daughter on September 24, 2020. In April 2021 she began using the last name Nunes within the UFC. Her April 10 fight against Mackenzie Dern was her first fight under her new last name.

Championships and accomplishments

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Munah Holland

Mixed martial arts record

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San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

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Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–5 ,

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Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

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Uberlândia Uberlândia () is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It is the second largest municipality in the state of Minas Gerais after the state capital Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 699,097, making it the fo ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , style="text-align:center;", 6–3 , Munah Holland , TKO (punches) , Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith , , style="text-align:center;", 3 , style="text-align:center;", 3:54 , Kansas City, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center;", 5–3 , Aylla Caroline Lima , TKO (body kick and punches) , Premier Fight League 10 , , style="text-align:center;", 1 , style="text-align:center;", 1:25 , Serrinha, Brazil , , - , Win , style="text-align:center;", 4–3 , Trisha Clark , TKO (punches) , Centurion Fights , , style="text-align:center;", 2 , style="text-align:center;", 2:14 ,

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

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Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United States Census Bureau estimated the ...

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Hankinson, North Dakota Hankinson is a city in Richland County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 921 at the 2020 census. Hankinson was founded in 1886. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND– MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office has been ...

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Barb Honchak Barbara Marie Honchak (born August 30, 1979) is a retired American professional female mixed martial artist. She is the first Invicta FC Flyweight Champion. She has four wins in the Invicta FC promotion and holds notable victories over Vanessa ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Crowbar MMA: Spring Brawl 2 , , style="text-align:center;", 3 , style="text-align:center;", 5:00 , Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center;", 1–1 ,

Carla Esparza Carla Kristen Esparza (born October 10, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Cham ...

, Decision (split) , Crowbar MMA: Winter Brawl , , style="text-align:center;", 3 , style="text-align:center;", 5:00 , Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center;", 1–0 , Catia Vitoria , Decision (unanimous) , Crowbar MMA: Fall Brawl , , style="text-align:center;", 5 , style="text-align:center;", 5:00 , Fargo, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jenny Yum , Decision (unanimous) , HOOKnSHOOT – GFight Summit 2010 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Christy Tada , TKO (referee stoppage) , The Future Stars of MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 , , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Sara Seitz , TKO (submission to punches) , Xplosive Caged Combat , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:30 , ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes, Nina 1985 births American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners People from Weston, Florida Mixed martial artists from Florida Living people Strawweight mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female taekwondo practitioners American people of Macedonian descent LGBT mixed martial artists LGBT people from Florida American LGBT sportspeople Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters LGBT Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners LGBT taekwondo practitioners 21st-century American women Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida