The Coconut Creek, Florida-based MMA training facility American Top Team (ATT) has played a pivotal part in the careers of several UFC fighters, including former champ-champ Amanda Nunes. “The Lioness” achieved multiple noteworthy accolades during her years of association with the gym. After an eight-year coalition, Nunes decided to part ways with ATT early in 2022.
Back then, “The Lioness” didn’t reveal much about the reason behind her exit. Recently, Nunes provided better clarity about the topic, disclosing how the reigning bantamweight champ, Kayla Harrison, was the primary factor behind her departure from ATT.
Kayla Harrison’s Entry Into the American Top Team Led to Amanda Nunes’ Exit
Nunes enjoyed massive success in her UFC career after joining ATT in 2014. She has repeatedly credited the ATT head coach, Mike Brown, and her other instructors for helping her evolve her fight game. Nunes won both the UFC bantamweight and featherweight titles while training in ATT, becoming the lone woman champ-champ in UFC history.
Shortly after parting ways with the ATT in 2022, Nunes appeared as a coach on TUF 30 against Julianna Peña. “The Lioness” talked about her exit from ATT during one of her following press conferences. Nunes mentioned that she left ATT in search of a “little private space” for training, something she had always wanted.
“But I always wanted to have a little private space for me. Because even at American Top Team, I always did my things separately,” said Nunes.
However, during her appearance at the UFC 316 Post Show alongside Jon Anik and Brett Okamoto, Nunes disclosed the real reason behind her ATT exit. “The Lioness” mentioned that the complications began with Harrison’s entry into ATT.
Despite being mutually respectful, Nunes disclosed that her and Harrison’s “energies” didn’t match. The former champ-champ also sensed she was on a collision course with Harrison because they were among the best fighters competing within the same weight range.
“The Lioness” highlighted how a fight between her and Harrison would have been a massive problem for the ATT instructors, as both combatants trained at the same gym. She credited her ATT exit to an amalgamation of all these Harrison-related factors.
“We [Harrison and I] always respected each other in the gym, but we knew. Our energies; we have never been able to connect,” said Nunes. “When she got there, she started training with my coach, Mike Brown, and others, and I knew this fight would happen one day. If I was there now [at ATT], it would be [have been] a huge problem.”
Harrison accomplished her immediate goal by claiming the bantamweight gold with a victory over Julianna Peña at UFC 316. However, the former PFL star also took a massive step towards her next target to fight Nunes with an in-Octagon face-off following her UFC 316 triumph. It remains to be seen if the much-anticipated Harrison vs. Nunes clash happens at the end of this year as “The Lioness” wishes for.