Amanda Nunes entered her latest bantamweight title defense expecting to face Holly Holm at her most elusive and tactical.
What she got was something else entirely.
Nunes couldn’t explain it, but there was something off about Holm on Saturday during their co-main event bout at UFC 239 in Las Vegas. Known for her methodical striking, Holm, a former UFC and boxing champion, did not shy away from engaging more directly with Nunes, a fighter who has developed a reputation as one of MMA’s most feared finishers.
Perhaps Holm should have practiced caution as she normally does, because after a brief feeling-out process, Nunes set up a head kick that landed clean across the front of Holm’s head and she was too dazed to stop Nunes from finishing with follow-up punches.