Amanda Buckner Injured, Amanda Nunes Hopes For Strikeforce FightA lingering knee injury has forced Amanda Buckner out of a planned fight against Brazilian Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes on February 4th. The bout was set to take place in Buckner’s home state of Maine for the Global Fight League, but Buckner will instead undergo surgery on her knee.

Though she has not yet been officially removed from the GFL card, Nunes is hopeful that she may receive an opportunity to fight for Strikeforce in 2011. Nunes is seen as one of only a handful of top challengers left for dominant Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

Buckner (11-5-1) had first planned to take part in the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Grand Prix in January, but a torn ACL in training forced her to the sidelines. She underwent successful surgery, but experienced lingering pains and a slow recovery. According to Buckner, she will have a second surgery done on November 17th in order to alleviate pain and restore full motion in her knee. A recovery timetable was not listed, but Buckner has not fought since April 3, 2008 and a full three years will likely have elapsed by the time that she is finally cleared to compete again.

Nunes (5-1-0) has also encountered a lengthy layoff and has not fought since a dominant stoppage win over the previously unbeaten Ediane “India” Gomes in February. Prior to that, Nunes stopped tough veteran Vanessa Porto in December. All five of her victories have come by a form of knockout and she has not lost since her pro debut in early 2008. Nunes will be living and training in the United States until February 22, 2011 and is looking for other opportunities now that the bout with Buckner is off. Nunes’s manager has confirmed that she would welcome a fight in Strikeforce.

MMARising.com has confirmed that there have been discussions within Strikeforce about Nunes, but no decisions have been made. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker appeared receptive to the possibility of a Nunes vs Santos title fight, but Nunes is reportedly interested in competiting in at least one fight for Strikeforce before challenging for the title. A bout between Nunes and Canadian Muay Thai champion Julia “The Jewel” Budd, who recently stopped Shana “Rock Solid” Olsen in her MMA and Strikeforce debut, could potentially serve as a Strikeforce title eliminator.

Santos is presently without an opponent for her next title defence and a tentative date for her return to the cage has not yet been established.

Tim Peterson contributed to this report.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)

  1. A Nunes/Budd fight would be PERFECT. Winner definitely makes for a worthy title challenger.