“It Makes Sense” – Years After Men’s Flyweight Debacle, Dana White to Get Rid of the Entire Division After UFC 289 Witnesses Amanda Nunes’ Retirement

Amanda Nunes shocked the MMA world after announcing her retirement from the sport following her win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289. However, this may also be the retirement of the women’s featherweight division. Dana White addressed this concern in the post-fight press conference of the pay-per-view.

‘The Lioness’ will go down in UFC’s history books as arguably the greatest woman to fight inside the Octagon. She retired with an MMA record of 22 wins and 5 losses and as the undisputed bantamweight champion. Nunes dominated Irene Aldana in a five-round beat down to retain the title.

The judges scored the fight 50-44, 50-44, and 50-43 giving ‘The Lioness’ a unanimous decision victory. During her emotional post-fight interview, Nunes seemed elated to have won the fight in a very dominant showing. However, as she was calling for someone to help her remove the gloves, ‘The Lioness’ laid both of her championships on the floor of the cage. That was the moment when she decided to spill the news of her retirement. She said, “Tonight is the perfect night to retire and then leave it happy forever.”

Nunes’ retirement has negative implications for an entire division with the UFC president providing fans an update.

Dana White considering getting rid of the women’s featherweight division

One of the first questions during Dana White’s brief appearance at the press conference revolved around the retirement of Amanda Nunes. A reporter asked him if ‘The Lioness’ hanging up her gloves could brew the end of the featherweight division due to the lack of fighters. The UFC president responded positively to that idea. He said, “The Answer is probably yes. I mean, I don’t make these decisions right after a fight.”

This is reminiscent of the time when he considered dissolving the flyweight division in 2018. However, the division regained its shine with fighters like Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo, among many others, showing the class inside the cage. Furthermore, Dana White mentioned that he was aware of Nunes’ decision to retire before she announced it to the crowd. He said, “She told me when she walked over to the side of the cage that she was retiring.”

READ MORE: Following Charles Oliveira’s Record 20th Finish at UFC 289, Champ Islam Makhachev Sends Ex-Opponent a Grim Reminder of Previous Loss

It certainly looks as though the UFC president could just decide to make Amanda Nunes the ultimate women’s featherweight champion of the promotion. However, we cannot snub the possibility of a revival, which we saw with the men’s flyweight division. The problem is that most fighters in the division are no longer fighting in that weight class anymore. Moreover, some fighters have also left the promotion. The fans will have to wait and see what follows.

What do you make of White’s comments over the featherweight division? Let us know in the comments section below.

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