Coach reveals why Amanda Nunes can’t fight at UFC 249

American Top Team coach Conan Silveira says the reason Amanda Nunes can’t fight at UFC 249 is due to an ankle injury she suffered in training.

The UFC women’s featherweight champion Nunes recently withdrew from a scheduled title fight against Felicia Spencer at the newly-revamped UFC 249 card on May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida. The two were previously scheduled for the canceled UFC 250 card set for Sao Paulo, and UFC president Dana White was hoping to re-book the fight as the third title fight on the new, stacked UFC 249 card.

At the time, reports indicated that Nunes withdrew due to wanting a full training camp and not feeling comfortable to compete at the event during the coronavirus pandemic. According to her coach at ATT Silveira, though, that’s not the whole story. The veteran trainer told Combate.com that Nunes endured an ankle injury in training and that led to her withdrawing from the bout.

“Amanda had a small ankle injury, she preferred to stop and treat, rather than running, because we were at that stage where we didn’t know what would happen. We didn’t know if it would be May 9, where it was going to be, we had several questions and few answers,” Silveira said.

“In the training we were doing before we stopped, she got hurt and we didn’t want to force it. We prefer to stop and treat, for her to be ready, as she always has been, to return as soon as possible.”

While it’s unfortunate that Amanda Nunes will not be able to compete on the May 9 card, it doesn’t appear that the injury is serious and she should be able to return to the Octagon shortly. Her opponent Spencer has already been calling for the UFC to re-book the Nunes fight in June, so hopefully, the champ can quickly heal up her ankle and get back to training soon.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/29/2020.