Dana White Surprised Two-Division Champ Amanda Nunes is Considering Retirement

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Over the weekend, UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes revealed that retirement could be in her plans for the near future during an appearance on Brazilian TV Show "Esporte Espetacular.”

“Ah, I don’t know. I’ve achieved everything I wanted,” Nunes said (translation via MMAFighting.com). “I’m well. I can go on with my life, maybe a (take) new step, maybe find new talents, help some girls there … maybe be a coach, too.

“I’m in a moment that I can retire, you know, and I’m in a moment that I can fight. I’m fine. There’s nothing else to be done right now in the division. The Hall of Fame will come, for sure. My life going forward, if I do stop now, the UFC will give me every support I need to continue having my money and work.”

That revelation came as a surprise to Dana White, who revealed on the Schmozone Podcast that he had plans to build up the featherweight division for her. The UFC president doesn’t believe Nunes has reached a point where she should walk away, comparing her situation to that of Daniel Cormier’s a couple years back.

“I will kill her,” White said with a laugh. “I literally just told (UFC matchmakers) Sean (Shelby) and Mick (Maynard) in the last meeting let’s get this division built for her. Let’s build this division for her, and let’s start figuring this out. And now she’s talking about retiring?

“You know what’s awesome about that when you think about it — her retiring isn’t awesome, that actually drives me nuts. You know how I always say if you’re talking about retirement, you probably should … unless you’re where she’s at. It’s like what I said about Cormier when he was talking about retiring a couple of years ago.”

White and the UFC have been engaged in very public feuds with some of the promotion’s top stars regarding money, including Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal. Meanwhile, Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor both made retirement announcements recently, which have also been linked to financial issues.

According to White, Nunes is financially set up to where she can retire, something he claims shows the gender equity in the UFC.

“In this time when I’ve got guys crying about money, one of our female fighters who could go on and keep doing this for a long time is saying maybe I retire now,” White said. “She’s got plenty of money and she can do it.

“Nobody ever brings that s—t up that the women are treated just like the men here. Even tennis, which is a massive sport that’s been around forever, has huge TV deals, the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, all these things and the women still don’t make what the men do. Amanda Nunes is in a position where she can retire.”