Nunes’ game just might work. Prior to her UFC debut in 2021,
footage on Nunes was not particularly impressive. She obviously had
knockout power, but she was often on the losing end of some messy
fights before finding what felt like an unlikely finish. “Josi”
still is not a particularly technical fighter, but it is apparent
at this point that her power is something truly special. Bea Malecki
has dealt with concussion-related issues since suffering a knockout
from Nunes, and she laid an absolute battering on Ramona
Pascual in her last fight. There is probably a reckoning coming
for Nunes at some point, particularly against an opponent with an
effective wrestling game, but the featherweight division is
wide-open enough for Nunes to cause some real damage. Next up for
the Brazilian is France’s dos Santos, who remains in search of her
first UFC win. Dos Santos was a solid enough striker on the
regional scene but found most of her success as a bantamweight. At
145 pounds, she has not seemed to have the requisite physicality to
stand up to her opposition, with things quickly going south once
she charges into her opponent. On the plus side for dos Santos,
Nunes does not figure to take advantage of her fairly abysmal
wrestling and grappling game; the Frenchwoman’s UFC debut saw her
get tapped by Megan
Anderson in under four minutes. While this figures to be dos
Santos’ best chance yet at a UFC victory— her Brazilian
counterpart’s 5-foot-2 frame puts her at a significant size
disadvantage—Nunes figures to have the necessary knockout power to
end this once the fists start flying. The pick is Nunes via
first-round knockout.
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