Nunes, a two-division champion, has shown little interest in participating in the pre-fight hype machineGETTY IMAGES
Brazilian MMA fighter Amanda Nunes sits at the "top of UFC's female class," but neither the MMA promotion nor parent company Endeavor have made her a "mainstream star in the United States that even approaches" what Ronda Rousey had experienced, according to Cousineau & Snel of LVSPORTSBIZ.com. Nunes, who remains a champion in two weight classes after beating Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 on Saturday, "doesn’t carry the marketing firepower" of Megan Rapinoe or Serena Williams. It seems "strange and a lost opportunity for both Endeavor and UFC that Nunes is not a household name" in the U.S. One of the "promotional characteristics working against" Nunes is that she "does not engage in the three-ring circus atmosphere that surrounds many of UFC’s fight promotions." What is "perplexing behind Nunes’ lack of marketing attention is that well-known female athletes like Rapinoe and Williams also do not have the stereotypical Hollywood looks." It seems as though Nunes "would be ideal to be marketed to both the Hispanic and gay/lesbian communities." When asked about whether Endeavor/UFC has approached her about growing her profile outside the Octagon, Nunes said that it is "coming" and that she is "patient and happy with what she has now" (LVSPORTSBIZ.com, 12/14). ESPN’s Chael Sonnen said Nunes “is the most reliable athlete in all of sports right now -- not just this sport.” UFC analyst Joe Rogan called Nunes the “absolute consensus greatest pound-for-pound woman (fighter) of all time (“UFC 245 Prelims,” ESPN2, 12/14).
