Nunes not interested in fight with Cyborg or moving up to 145

Amanda Nunes is sticking to her division for now.

The UFC women's bantamweight champion flirted with the idea of challenging the winner of February's inaugural women's featherweight title bout between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie, but that idea has been shelved for now with the impending return of Cris Cyborg.

Cyborg recently avoided a lengthy suspension after appealing a USADA violation and has a strong case to be the rightful queen at 145 pounds given her years of success in the division. While Nunes is beginning to develop her own reputation as a dominant force, a clash with Cyborg is not part of her plans.

"I do not intend to fight with Cris," Nunes told Diego Ribas of Ag. Fight. "But my intention was to fight (Holm or De Randamie), who were in my category, but Cris is coming back now and I'm not interested in going up. I want to see her as the champion.

"To fight with her, I would have to gain weight and gain muscle. I am at 135 pounds. To do such a job (at 145), I would need at least a year."

Making such a dramatic change to her training and diet probably isn't necessary for Nunes who has established herself as a rising star in the UFC after running through Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey in 2016. Nunes also owns a TKO win over De Randamie, who defeated Holm by unanimous decision at UFC 208.

Rather than angle for another win over De Randamie and a second title, Nunes is deferring to her fellow Brazilian.

"That's what I said: 'This category is for Cris, but then she tested positive,'" Nunes said. "But then, two girls from the 135-pound class moved up, one was coming off two defeats and the other was not in the rankings. The champion is a girl that I have already defeated.

"I asked to go up because I can be champion in two categories. My point of view was that they were two athletes from my category and that Cris was not in the game at the time."

- With h/t to FOX Sports