Coach had no doubt Amanda Nunes would finish Cris Cyborg: ‘She hits like a man’
UFC

Coach had no doubt Amanda Nunes would finish Cris Cyborg: ‘She hits like a man’

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“I think that’s pretty much a good explanation for her: she hits like a man.”

Amanda Nunes did it.

‘The Lioness’ became the first female double champ in UFC history after she knocked out Cris Cyborg in the UFC 232 co-main event at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

It took just 51 seconds to get the job done, but American Top Team coach Conan Silveira wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Speaking to Luke Thomas of The MMA Hour in a recent interview, Silveira spoke of how Nunes utilised her freakish knockout power to crumple Cyborg in the first round.

“I knew that we were leaving that night with the belt,” Silveira said, per MMA Fighting’s Peter Carroll.

“We had the strategy, she was really well-trained for any situation the fight would [bring]. What happened was, Amanda is extremely dangerous when she sees an opening and I think it was a big mistake from Cyborg to try and exchange with her. [Amanda] is very precise and she has extremely heavy hands and that’s the way the fight finished—Amanda knocking her out.”

According to Silveira, Nunes doesn’t spar with any women at American Top Team, which is why the current bantamweight and featherweight champion ‘hits like a man.’

“Amanda doesn’t have any girl training partners, she only has male training partners. It’s not every fighter that trains with her, some of the guys don’t like to train with her because she hits hard. I think that’s pretty much a good explanation for her: she hits like a man,” he said.

Although much of the emphasis has been on Nunes’ power, the Brazilian also has excellent footwork, timing and precision. Nunes countered Cyborg beautifully at UFC 232 and made an otherwise ferocious fighter look like she didn’t belong in the cage at all on Dec. 29.

“Amanda has all the tools. [It’s not like she only knows] a little bit on the ground and a little bit of striking, she speaks fluently everywhere. Like I said, for every situation that happens, she knows how to answer the question.”

With not one, but two world titles to her name, Nunes is hoping to alternate between weight classes and successfully defended both belts. The 30-year-old has no interest in an immediate rematch against Cyborg.