Amanda Nunes famously split from her longtime MMA gym American Top Team after losing her UFC bantamweight title in shocking fashion. As it turns out, Kayla Harrison may have been a big reason why she left.
In a recent interview with MMAFighting, Amanda Nunes noted that she was the first woman to train at ATT and soon became a target as she was the UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion. The talk of a fight with Kayla Harrison soon grew to become very loud.
“There’s that saying, like it or lump it,” said Nunes, who was also promoting her partnership with Sports Metaverse. “I was bothered by the whole situation, of course.
“There were no girls when I got to American Top Team. I was the first woman to bring two belts and put the women’s team in history. When Kayla got there and then Kunitskaya, it began creating a weird situation for me because that was my territory.
“Other bantamweights were coming. Kunitskaya, who was already at the top and could’ve been a future opponent with a win over Ketlen [Vieira in 2021]. She got there right, when she was close to becoming the next opponent. She showed up in the gym and I had a scare when I walked in. I was like, ‘No, it’s not possible.’ It was creating this situation already.
“And then Kayla started talking. I was kind of, ‘Man, I’m not safe even in my territory.’ I was kind of cornered, even because we share the same coaches. She trains with Mike Brown and I train with Mike Brown. I was already training with them when she got there.”
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