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For FloCombat via A.G Fight



Having stacked up five consecutive wins inside the Octagon, Amanda Nunes is a bulldozer.



The owner of the UFC's women's bantamweight belt, the Brazilian "Lioness" uses an aggressive style as well as vicious knockout power to end her fights in abrupt fashion. So much so that out of her 18 appearances in MMA (14 wins and four losses), Nunes has only seen a judge's scorecard twice. Still, great results don't automatically mean due recognition, even going into the headliner of UFC 213 this weekend in Las Vegas.



Speaking to reporters in a video conference last Tuesday, Nunes said although it's getting better, she still isn't getting the merits she should for her performances inside the cage. Even before knocking out Ronda Rousey last December, Nunes questioned the UFC's efforts going into her first title defense.



"The way that fight was promoted, the result was a shock," Nunes said about her 48-second victory against the once-so-dominant ex-champion. "From then on, if you didn't already know Amanda Nunes, you knew. It changed a lot but sometimes it's a little sad. People still look around and say, 'You're the girl who beat Ronda Rousey.' They don't say: 'It's Amanda Nunes who won against Rousey.' It's a little sad sometimes, but it's getting better."



Set to face Valentina Shevchenko this Saturday in a rematch of their bout at UFC 196 last year, the bantamweight queen said the bad blood between her and her rival plays a major role in her career right now. After beating the world's most famous female fighter in Rousey, and steamrolling Miesha Tate before that, the rematch with Muay Thai champion Shevchenko should kick off her real legacy, and bring her popularity to the next level.



"I have to win and continue until the time comes when people look at me as champion," Nunes said. "Another fight where I will continue to prove that is this rematch. After this fight, people will start calling me champion and recognize me. Everything takes time. If you don't have media promotion to help, you have to do this [by yourself]. I'm that athlete."



Making it clear that the perceived lack of promotion hasn't been solved to her satisfaction after winning the title last year at UFC 200, Nunes feels she deserves to be promoted as the champion that she is.



"I'm the champion, I'm the best in the world," Nunes said. "It's not that I'm the face of MMA. I am the champion, I have to be promoted as champion. I conquered [the belt] with my work."













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