Amanda Nunes thought she was just getting in a quick sparring session with Dustin Poirier. However, she quickly realized that it was more than she was signing up for. While gearing up for her 2017 title fight against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 315, the women’s MMA great was asked to warm up with the elite lightweight at American Top Team (ATT). But once Poirier landed a crisp jab, the Brazilian-American had a pretty quick change of heart.

“They put me in to warm up with Dustin. I said, ‘Are you serious?’ So I was like, ok,” Nunes recalled during her recent appearance on Deep Waters. “He connected a jab and I said like, ‘Conan, I don’t think this is a good idea. I think this will have to be the last one.’ Then he was like, ‘Yeah, I think you are right.’

“I knew like if I keep it going, it can hurt me. I have to be like, you know, careful.”

“Damn Dustin, you trying to take, when she was at the top. Trying to out our champ?” Jorge Masvidal remarked to Poirier, who was seated next to Nunes.

Though Amanda Nunes wasn’t too sure about the idea of sparring with Dustin Poirier, even if it was just a warm-up, their ATT coach Conan Silveira thought Poirier would be able to replicate Shevchenko’s southpaw stance and movement, giving ‘The Lioness’ a chance to prepare for the challenge ahead.

However, Dustin Poirier had his own take on the memorable sparring session, and it turns out things didn’t exactly go as planned for him either.

While coach Conan Silveira had asked the lightweight to help Amanda Nunes prepare for the fight, Poirier agreed, only to discover that the former champion was bringing far more than a warm-up’s worth of intensity.

“Conan said, ‘Can you move like maybe Valentina? Move southpaw a little bit with her?’ “Yeah, I’ll move around like her,’ and then she beat me up,” Poirier clarified.

The session eventually reached a point where continuing simply wasn’t worth the risk. After landing a clean jab, ‘The Diamond’ and Amanda Nunes recognized that pushing things further could leave either fighter dealing with an unnecessary injury.

With the Brazilian’s championship bout approaching, calling it a day was the sensible choice, even for two elite fighters used to operating at the highest level. Thankfully, though, the sparring worked, and the Brazilian won the bout against Shevchenko by split decision in what turned out to be one of the best women’s MMA bout of all time.

Amanda Nunes’ story becomes even more impressive when you consider the reputation she built for her punching power. Even male training partners weren’t immune to her heavy hands, with UFC CEO Dana White previously revealing that Nunes had been dropping men during training camp.

“She’s one of my all-time favorites,” White told Jim Rome ahead of Amanda Nunes’ title defense at UFC 259. “She doesn’t care who she’s fighting; she’ll fight anybody. One of the sweetest people that you’ll ever meet, very, very easy to deal with, but once she steps inside the octagon, she’s an absolute savage.

“What’s scary about her right now is Dan Lambert, the guy that runs her team, is saying he doesn’t understand why, but she looks better than she’s ever looked in this camp, and she was dropping guys in camp. So this is gonna be interesting.”

The former champion’s punching power was no secret inside American Top Team either, as coach Conan Silveira previously explained why finding the right sparring partners for her was such a challenge.

“Amanda doesn’t have any girl training partners; she only has male training partners,” Silveira said on The MMA Hour back in 2019. “It’s not every fighter that trains with her; some of the guys don’t like to train with her because she hits hard. I think that’s pretty much a good explanation for her: she hits like a man.”

So, it seems like the Poirier incident simply highlighted the fine line between pushing an elite fighter to the limit and taking unnecessary risks ahead of a championship bout. Amanda Nunes was more than capable of holding her own against top-level male training partners, but with a title fight against Valentina Shevchenko on the horizon, there was little reason to risk an injury in the gym.

For all her power and confidence, ‘The Lioness’ knew that sometimes the smartest move was to call it a day and save the real fight for the Octagon. And while she is all geared up for her comeback fight against Kayla Harrison, Dustin Poirier claims the bantamweight champion will be retaining the title at UFC 334 despite previously training with Amanda Nunes.

Dustin Poirier backs Kayla Harrison ahead of Amanda Nunes’ UFC return

Nunes walked away from MMA on top after outpointing Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023, but retirement didn’t keep the two-time champion away from the sport for good. Before hanging up her gloves, ‘The Lioness’ had also avenged her loss to Julianna Pena at UFC 277 in 2022, reclaiming the women’s bantamweight title in emphatic fashion.

Now, the UFC Hall of Famer is gearing up for a comeback, with a potential blockbuster clash against Kayla Harrison waiting on the other side. Harrison claimed the bantamweight crown by submitting Peña, setting the stage for a showdown between two of the division’s biggest names.

The fight was initially targeted for UFC 324 in January, only for Harrison to pull out with an injury that required surgery. The matchup has since been pushed back, with November’s UFC 334 offering the long-awaited clash.

Despite having shared the mats with Amanda Nunes at American Top Team, Dustin Poirier is leaning toward Kayla Harrison in the potential showdown. Speaking on UFC on Paramount+, ‘The Diamond’ identified Harrison’s judo and wrestling as the biggest factors that could swing the championship clash in her favor.

“I think Kayla. For sure [I’m closer with her]. And I’ve known Amanda a lot longer, but I think Kayla, it’s going to come down to the takedowns,” Poirier said. “Can Kayla use her judo and her wrestling to get Amanda down? If she can, I think she’s gonna have a lot of success.”

Poirier sees the champion’s grappling as a major threat to Nunes, particularly if the fight hits the ground. But he also believes the former champion has a couple of weapons that could make life difficult for Harrison: her reach and knockout power.

“You know, we’ve seen Amanda submitted before,” Poirier explained. “Kayla’s big, strong, good top position, knows how to grapple, but the length and power Amanda has, you can’t prepare for in the female division. You can’t get girls in the gym who can punch like that.”

Harrison has just one defeat on her 20-fight professional MMA record and has already shown what she can do on the ground by submitting Julianna Peña. But Amanda Nunes brings a different level of championship experience to the table, along with 32 recorded takedowns in the UFC women’s bantamweight division.

Of course, Nunes hasn’t competed since 2023, and returning against the reigning champion is no easy task for her.. Dustin Poirier may be backing Kayla Harrison, but writing off Nunes would be a mistake.

Her punching power, championship pedigree, and ability to dictate the pace and range of a fight could make this a much tougher test than expected.

The biggest question if the matchup comes together at UFC 334 will be if Harrison can take Amanda Nunes down before the former champion makes her pay on the feet. Elite grappling on one side, devastating power on the other, this could be a fascinating clash of styles.