Amanda Nunes once found herself sparring with Dustin Poirier while preparing for a potential matchup against Valentina Shevchenko. What started as a warm-up session quickly turned into a reminder of why even a light exchange with another elite UFC athlete can carry risks.
Speaking on UFC on Paramount+, Nunes recalled being asked to work with Poirier at American Top Team while getting ready for the possible Shevchenko matchup.
“They put me in to warm up with Dustin. I said, ‘Are you serious?’ So I was like, ok,” Nunes recalled.
Poirier explained that the idea was for him to imitate Shevchenko’s southpaw stance and give Nunes a different look to prepare against.
“Conan [Silveira] said, ‘Can you move like maybe Valentina? Move southpaw a little bit with her?’ ‘Yeah, I’ll move around like her,’ and then she beat me up,” Poirier clarified.
However, Nunes quickly realized that continuing the session might not be the best idea. The former two-division UFC champion recalled Poirier landing a jab that gave her enough information to reconsider the sparring session.
“He connected a jab and I said like, ‘Conan [Silveira], I don’t think this is a good idea. I think this will have to be the last one.’ Then he was like, ‘Yeah, I think you are right.’”
Nunes made it clear that Poirier was not hitting her particularly hard. Instead, she recognized the potential consequences of continuing to exchange strikes with a athlete of his caliber, especially while preparing for an important matchup of her own.
“No, it’s not hard but I was able to feel, you know what I mean? I knew like if I keep it going, it can hurt me. I have to be careful.”
Poirier also offered his perspective on the encounter, joking that he was the reason Nunes eventually left American Top Team. He said, “No, she hit me with a jab and I was like, ‘Hey, this is too much.’”
