Amanda Nunes “retired because Kayla was coming to the UFC” – Ali Abdelaziz
MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has gone on the record to suggest that former two-division UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes retired from mixed martial arts competition because Olympic medalist and former PFL champion Kayla Harrison was coming to the UFC.
“You have to understand, Amanda Nunes did everything,” Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. She retired because Kayla was coming to the UFC, No. 1. She left ATT because Kayla was training there. She turned on the people who really helped her, like Dan Lambert and ‘Conan’ [Marcus Silveira] and everybody who helped her because Kayla was getting more attention and she’s grown, and [Nunes] knew they were going to have to fight. Amanda Nunes. her biggest nightmare in here, it was Kayla, and this is why she retired. She has a lot of pride in her. She retired because of Kayla Harrison. And now she said she wants to come back. I don’t think she ever comes back. but if she comes back, that’ll be amazing.
“She trained a couple of times [with Harrison] and whatever happened in the training room happened, and she never wanted to train with Kayla again. She didn’t want to spar with Kayla again. She starts training by herself away from the team. Every time Kayla comes to the gym, she left. ATT really created who [Nunes] is and she turned on them because she thought Kayla’s coming. And you know what? She was coming. She was right, Kayla’s coming, but she was the champion. She was jewel of the gym, but her insecurity and uncertainty about beating Kayla allowed her to leave the gym.”
