Amanda Nunes’ departure from American Top Team had nothing to do with her most recent loss, she said.
The news came in wake of her shocking upset loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 269, and though she’ll get an opportunity to reclaim the women’s bantamweight title, she’ll be doing it with a different coaching staff.
Nunes (21-3, 14-3 UFC), who still holds the women’s featherweight title, will be opening her own gym and insists her split with her longtime American Top Team home was amicable.
“Actually, I always wanted to open a private spot,” Nunes told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Monday’s “Ultimate Fighter 30” media day. “I never said I’m going to open a gym to compete against (American Top Team). That never came out of my mouth. But I always wanted to have a little private space for me because even at American Top Team, I always did my things separate. I had my time to go, and I had my coaches there waiting for me to help me with my camp. It was always like that.
“It was always in my head that I might one day want to have a space. I want to see all my teachings on the wall, put up my logo, all those things that a lot of fighters want to do at some point in their career, and I feel like this is the moment for me. I want to go on my own for a little bit. American Top Team, together we did amazing things – all the coaches, the gym, the owner Dan Lambert. I feel like we did everything for each other. But now for me, for my head, for now I feel like I should go do what I really want.”
Nunes will be debuting her new coaching staff when she films Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite Peña (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC), whom she is expected to rematch after the show airs. The season begins filming this month and the first of the 12-episode season will debut May 3 and stream on ESPN+.
Nunes’ new team will be comprised of several familiar faces she’s already worked with throughout her career.
“I feel like I deserve to do what I want to do,” Nunes said. “It’s nothing to do with the gym. Actually, we’re still good. I can still walk in that gym and train whenever I want. I still have a good relationship. I didn’t close the door because nothing (bad) happened. It didn’t go my way, but we made a lot of things together. We made history together.
“Actually, that was something that I want to do different, too. But the coaches used to be at American Top Team. It’s Kami Barzini – he used to be the wrestling coach when I got there. I started training wrestling with him at American Top Team, but he ended up leaving, and so I started training with Mike Brown. And Roger Krahl. Roger was an American Top Team coach, too. So it comes from that. It comes from American Top Team, anyways. They’re not there, but I’m pretty sure they really have amazing moments that they’ll always remember as well.”
