10-year-old Amanda Nunes once beat up a man for taking her soccer ball

UFC 178’s Amanda Nunes thinks fighting saved her life. Judging by the trouble she got into growing up, it certainly focused her natural talents.

Asked for a street fight story on MMAjunkie Radio, Nunes, who fights Cat Zingano on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 178, said she once beat up a man for trying to steal her soccer ball. She was 10 years old.

What preceded this impromptu throwdown? The guy came up and kicked the ball.

“He said, ‘It’s my ball,’ and then he starts to talk s–t at me and we started to fight in the street,” said Nunes (9-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who could be in line for a title shot if she beats Zingano (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

The UFC women’s bantamweight already was taking capoeira and jiu-jitsu classes at that point and used the former to sweep the guy to the mat. And from there, she said, “I started punching him in the face. Ground and pound.”

It wasn’t the first time Nunes used her fists outside of training. But then again, she had family members who were fighters. Her mom even cornered them.

“I got to fights a lot in the streets,” she said. “My sister would always go get me. My mom put me in sports because I have a lot of energy I can’t control. The sport saved me. I think I would have gotten in a little bit (of trouble if I hadn’t gotten into the sport.”

Now, her mom is no longer trying to rid her of extra energy. One of these days, Nunes expects she’ll be by her side between rounds.

“For sure, she’s going to be in my corner,” Nunes said.

UFC 178 takes place Saturday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The evening’s main card, including Zingano vs. Nunes, airs on pay-per-view.

For more on UFC 178, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.