UFC champ Amanda Nunes ready to disprove conditioning concerns in Valentina Shevchenko rematch

LAS VEGAS – If there’s been one knock on women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes during a largely dominant UFC run, it’s that her conditioning might not be quite up to par.

Nunes’ first fight with Valentina Shevchenko, who she meets in a title rematch in Saturday’s UFC 213 pay-per-view headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (prelims air on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass), added to that concern when she faded in the third round of the March 2016 encounter before winning a unanimous decision.

One of the primary storylines going into the rematch with Shevchenko (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is that five rounds are now in play for a title fight. Nunes (14-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) hasn’t gone past the first round since that fight, beating Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate by stoppage. But at UFC 213 she is prepared to silence her critics.

“I’m ready for five rounds,” Nunes said at Wednesday’s UFC 213 open workouts. “She can say all those things about my condition and stuff, but I’m ready. I have to prove it Saturday, and I will, and everything will be done. I’m going for the finish. The first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth – I will be ready.”

Nunes, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s bantamweight rankings, won the title from Tate in the headliner of last year’s International Fight Week festivities. She gets the main-event spot on the organization’s annual July tradition for a second year in a row as part of a run that includes five straight wins.

The Brazilian said she appreciates her position and is not letting the significance of it pass her by.

“It’s been amazing for me,” Nunes said. “My dreams have come true, and I’m just enjoying every single day. Once again I’m back in Vegas. It’s going to be amazing, for sure.”

For more on UFC 213, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.