Amanda Nunes is nominated for an ESPY for the upcoming best female athlete award. Additionally, the “Lioness” is set for the best MMA Fighter.
Nunes has accomplished everything in the sport of MMA that an individual could fathom achieving. And an ESPY wouldn’t be the first major award of her MMA career when recognizing greatness.
Nunes was named Female Fighter of the Year at the 12th annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards two months ago. As a nearly unanimous fan favorite in the sport, Nunes beat out some very formidable competition.
Box office names such as Cris Cyborg, PFL’s Kayla Harrison, and fellow UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko and Weili Zhang graced the list. However, Nunes could steal the victory despite only having one fight side of the cage in 2020. Although the award voting criteria spread across the timeline from January 2019 to July 2020.
Nunes Nominated for 2 ESPY’s
Now, Amanda will hope to capture an even more significant award during the ESPYs, according to MMA Fighting.
Amanda Nunes nominated for Best Athlete in Women’s Sports and Best MMA Fighter at 2021 ESPY Awards https://t.co/HyGGSntYNq pic.twitter.com/U4HFfOB9oX
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 16, 2021
Nunes will face stiff competition in both categories that she is nominated for. As far as “Best Female Athlete” goes,
ESPY Competition
Amanda will compete against Simone Biles, who completely changed the sport of gymnastics as she coasted her way to a seventh national all-around title. Biles also created a move named after her, which is so unique that judges in her sport tried to ban the movement, stating that no other humans on Earth could perform it.
Additionally, sensational young tennis player Naomi Osaka is nominated, who won both the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open. Osaka may not have competed in the French Open, but her fight for mental health transcended the game, focusing on making a more comfortable space for young athletes.
Next is Nunes, who retained both the UFC’s featherweight and bantamweight belts, a feat that no other woman can say they’ve accomplished in the archives of UFC history.
Lastly, Breanna Stewart, the WNBA Finals MVP who led Seattle to its fourth championship. Last season, the 6’4” forward averaged 20 points a game, nine rebounds, and four assists on 51% shooting.
Nunes is also nominated for the “Best MMA Fighter.” In that category, she’ll compete against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Rose Namajunas, and Francis Ngannou, all current UFC champions.
Will Nunes walk away with any of the awards?
