Nina Ansaroff showed up to Toronto an underdog for her fight with Claudia Gadelha at UFC 231, and for a little while there the odds-makers seemed prophetic. Yet when Ansaroff began to exact her jab onto Gadelha’s chin, and lay into Gadelha with crisp combinations and kicks, and fluster her with speed and jagged head movement, the fight swung — somewhat declaratively — in her favor.
For most spectators, that unanimous decision against a top-flight contender was an eye-opener. Yet for one observer, it was something far more nerve-racking. Ansaroff’s fiancée and training partner, Amanda Nunes, had chewed her nails down to nubs before the fight.