The Most Dangerous Lesbian In The World...And You've Never Heard Of Her

No one is celebrating the UFC's first openly gay champion Amanda Nunes. Is the UFC to blame?

UFC champion Amanda Nunes

Illustration by K. David Bena

Remember Ronda Rousey? The blond-haired 135-pound fighter that was lording over her division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)? Well, most people have at least heard of former champion Ronda Rousey, in part, because the UFC promoted her... Heavily promoted her. She was on a media blitz: interviews on The Ellen Show and Conan, she donned the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine, guest starred in The Expendables 3 and Entourage while her career was scalding white-hot.

Ronda Rousey's Sports Illustrated photo shoot

But the promotional backing came to screeching halt when Rousey emphatically lost her belt -- and it wasn't solely because she had been defeated, and therefore lost some of her shine, it also had to do with Rousey's own way of handling the situation. She went into self-exile. How could the UFC promote someone that didn't want to be promoted?

Enter the new era: Amanda Nunes. The current UFC champion at 135 pounds. Not only is Nunes openly gay and proud of her sexuality but she's also an immigrant that has succeeded in America -- and learned english in the process.

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports / Via goo.gl

Nina Ansaroff (left) kisses girlfriend Amanda Nunes after Ansaroff won a UFC fight in January. Both Nunes and her girlfriend are athletes in the UFC.

Nunes wants to be promoted. Where is her cover of Sports Illustrated? Or cameo in a movie franchise? Or interview on The Ellen Show...? Who is also an OPENLY GAY WOMAN.

Ellen makes an important statement on her show

The UFC doesn't necessarily shy away from Nunes' sexuality but the company hasn't spotlighted their current champion to remotely the same extent that they did with Ronda Rousey. This dichotomy was clearly evident in marketing leading up to Rousey's return fight against champion Amanda Nunes. Most casual fans didn't know who Amanda Nunes was and the UFC didn't strive to make people aware.

There was such a heavy bias in the promotional campaign leading up to the fight that UFC commentator and stand-up comedian, Joe Rogan, commented, “I find it extremely bizarre that all these UFC 207 promos only focus on Ronda [Rousey] and very little about the champion Amanda Nunes. [Why] wouldn’t they focus on the epic match-up and build up Amanda as well?".

PowerfulJRE / Via youtu.be

Joe Rogan comments on the UFC's promotion leading up to Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes

Then the fight happened. Amanda Nunes decisively knocked out Ronda Rousey in the first round.

Nunes knocks out Rousey at UFC 207

In the wake of Nunes' win, the UFC was left with a faceless champion because they had opted not to promote Nunes in lieu of building up the "comeback" of media darling Ronda Rousey.

After the fight, Rousey fell back into self-exile where she remains --

and unfortunately, current champion Nunes is still virtually unrecognizable to the casual fans outside the UFC "bubble". Hopefully, the UFC will do more to promote and celebrate Nunes as their champion and an openly gay woman when promoting her next fight.

UFC Champion Amanda Nunes