RIO DE JANEIRO — Amanda Nunes of Brazil beat American Raquel Pennington early Sunday to defend her UFC bantamweight title for the third time. The heavily favored Brazilian won by technical knockout in the fifth round in front of her home fans in Rio de Janeiro.
Nunes said winning against her friend Pennington was the hardest challenge she had to face in her career.
"I respect this woman so much," the Brazilian said with tears in her eyes after her victory. "This was the hardest thing I did in my career. I had to do it to defend this belt, defend my biggest dream.