RIO DE JANEIRO – Immediately after outpointing Valentina Shevchenko this past fall to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight title, Amanda Nunes vowed to undergo nasal surgery.

Between an injured foot and an in-cage attack of sinusitis, the nasal condition that two months prior had scratched their engagement at UFC 213, Nunes (15-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was miserable during the five-round fight.

A subsequent trip to the doctor confirmed that surgery was the next step. But the more she thought about it, she more concerned she became. What if her nose became more sensitive, and it bled more easily after being hit? Certainly, that wasn’t a good outcome for a professional fighter.

So, Nunes tried another way. She turned to salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, to reduce the sinus inflammation that made breathing difficult. She said the treatment has reversed her symptoms in advance of her title defense against Raquel Pennington (9-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 224, which takes place Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and airs live on pay-per-view.

“I got better – way better – since I started doing it,” Nunes said.

According to Healthline.com, halotherapy involves sitting in a man-made “salt cave” that’s been set to 68 degrees without humidity. A “halogenerator” disperses micro-sized salt particles into the air, which are then breathed in by the patient.

Advocates claim the process alleviates the symptoms of a variety of respiratory illnesses, though there are few peer-reviewed studies about its efficacy.

Nunes has yet to step into the octagon since she started treatment, so Saturday’s fight is something of an experiment. If she can breathe free without going under the knife, however, she will continue to sit in that salt cave.

“I feel amazing,” she said. “All the treatments work very well, and I’m 100 percent, for sure.”

To hear more from Nunes, check out the video above.

For more on UFC 224, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.