Amanda Nunes Says She Was Provoked Before Mushing Valentina Shevchenko

UFC “Summer Kickoff” presser was a wild one and Amanda Nunes played a role in all the drama.

Nunes will defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title against Valentina Shevchenko inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 8. The first time the two met, Nunes took a unanimous decision victory. At UFC 213, they’ll meet again

Things got testy between the two when “The Lioness” mushed the face of “Bullet” with her fist. During a recent media luncheon, Nunes explained her actions:

“You guys never see me do that before. If she didn’t touch me, nothing is gonna happen. Imagine in that situation, a lot of emotions involved, somebody touches your face. It’s not cool. I kind of responded in that moment. It was more than (what) she did to me, but I reacted.”

“The Lioness” admitted she acted in the heat of the moment, but that it was retaliation.

“You never know, especially how you feel in that moment and somebody talks so much sh*t about you and touches you, your face. At that angle, you guys couldn’t see it that well, but I felt it.”

Nunes’ rematch with Shevchenko will mark her second women’s bantamweight title defense.