UFC 207: Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey

Amanda Nunes: I'm 100 Percent Better Than Ronda Rousey on the Ground

Amanda Nunes: I'm 100 Percent Better Than Ronda Rousey on the Ground

UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has no fear of going to the canvas with Ronda Rousey at UFC 207.

Dec 28, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Amanda Nunes: I'm 100 Percent Better Than Ronda Rousey on the Ground
Amanda Nunes is just 48 hours away from the biggest fight of her career against Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, but if you think she's feeling the pressure, think again.

Despite being the champion, the Brazilian has been, for the most part, overlooked in the lead up to the fight in the promotional activity. While this would bother some, Nunes doesn't appear to bothered and is instead focusing on her task at hand on Friday evening.

"I'm OK with that," Nunes told UFC Unfiltered. "The only thing I need to focus on is being the champion and being the best thing in the world, and I am. Everything else you do if the UFC likes you. What can I do about that? I can't change it.

"For sure it's a big motivation for me [proving people wrong]. This is the big moment, this is the big night where I show everyone that I'm the true champion, that I'm here to stay and that I'm a true champion--it's a big motivation for me."

Nunes then commented on what type of fight she was expecting would unfold on Friday. She didn't give away her own strategy, but implied that she was going to be comfortable wherever the fight played out.

"You have to have like three styles if you are going to fight a girl like Ronda," Nunes said. "You need to be ready everywhere. She's been training and she's been evolving in her striking too, and you have to be ready.

"For sure, I'm going to keep moving and try and land my best shots. Wherever this fight goes, I'm going to be ready. I feel like she's very strong in Judo and with the armbar. I feel like she doesn't know that much on the ground. She's strong, but she [doesn't] come from jiu-jitsu.

"I'm 100 percent better than her on the ground, and I will show this if the fight goes to the ground."

The champion then revealed she'd been studying Rousey's previous fight and noticed a number of potential openings that she will be looking to exploit at UFC 207.

She did, however, give a nod to Rousey's armbar technique and admitted she paid particular attention in the lead up to the fight improving her armbar defense.

"I think Ronda is very good at armbar finishes," Nunes said. "I'm going to be ready to defend the armbar, I'll be ready to tuck my elbow in so my arm cannot extend that much. These are kinda basic things in jiu-jitsu, and you can defend the armbar.

"It's like I said, in jiu-jitsu you repeat every day, armbar and armbar defense. In jiu-jitsu, it's an omoplata, which you do every day."

With the countdown on, Nunes could barely contain her excitement about the next few days ahead of her.

"This is the fight that I asked for," Nunes said. "I want to make a statement against Ronda Rousey the biggest name in the division. I want to defend my belt, and I want to show everyone I'm the best in the world and that I'm keeping my title for a while."