COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Dan Lambert’s American Top Team has recently seen the departure of a UFC champion, but the gym owner fully understands and supports the move.
After Amanda Nunes dropped one of her two UFC titles by losing to Julianna Peña via second-round submission at UFC 269, the former champ-champ decided it was time to move on from the gym she called home for over seven years.
On the surface, the move may have seemed like a knee-jerk reaction, but Nunes explained she always did things separately while at ATT. From Lambert’s perspective, he has no issue with one of the most successful fighters to call ATT home moving on to start her own thing.
“As long as it’s a good fit for us and a good fit for the fighter, we do great things together if we can,” Lambert told MMA Junkie. “If it’s no longer a great fit for us or them and somebody’s got to move on, we have an open-door policy. If somebody doesn’t want to be at the gym, they’re not going to be at the gym. Amanda decided she wants to start her own place and be a coach, maybe set something up for her post-fighting career. I support that, and I hope she does well.”
Nunes made it clear she has no intentions to compete with ATT and still has a good relationship with the gym. The UFC featherweight champ reached the pinnacle of two divisions after joining the gym following her loss to Cat Zingano at UFC 178 in 2014.
During her run with ATT, Lambert believes Nunes established herself as the greatest female fighter of all time and anything she does going forward can only add to her legacy. However, he also believes she must also begin planning for life after her fighting career is done, and the decision to start her own gym is a part of that.
“When someone fights their last fight and leaves their gloves in the cage, just because you don’t think about them anymore as a fan doesn’t mean they don’t have the rest of their life to think about,” Lambert said. “You know, what are you supposed to do? Just go sit home all day? You gotta do something and keep yourself busy. Idle hands are the hands of the devil, so if she has some idea on what she wants to do, to set herself up for when she’s done fighting, more power to her. Wish her all the best.”
