Amanda Nunes has retired after defending her world bantamweight belt against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in Vancouver.

The Brazilian, who also held the featherweight title, won on a unanimous points decision at Rogers Arena and after placing her belts on the canvas, announced she was calling time on her career.

She said in her octagon interview:  “Double champion forever, today is a perfect night to retire.

“My mum has been watching me do this for so long, she cannot take it anymore. So I decided, I am still young to enjoy everything I make.

“I never worked out in my mind that I would become a champion and when I did it was unbelievable.”

Nunes, 35, dominated the octagon over a lengthy career, and is the first woman to become a champion in two divisions. She is the only fighter to defend two titles while holding them both.

Saturday’s bout was supposed to be against Julianna Pena but the former champion withdrew due to injury.

Nunes’ victory over Aldana means she walks away with a 23-5 record and is widely regarded as the greatest ever women’s mixed martial artist.

Leon Edwards suspects Colby Covington is jealous of him as the UFC welterweight champion insisted any fight between the pair will only happen on his terms.

Covington has twice come up short when fighting for the 170lb title after losing on both occasions to Kamaru Usman, who Edwards dethroned as the division’s kingpin last August and then beat again in March.

Despite Covington’s most recent contest being in March last year, the American, who weighed in as the back-up option for Edwards-Usman II, has been installed as the Birmingham fighter’s next opponent.

Covington was indignant a July date in London was a non-starter for Edwards, who believes he has taken some of his rival’s star power and is adamant any future foe will have to dance to his tune.

Edwards told the PA news agency: “They were saying if Kamaru wasn’t champion, it would be Colby. That was the narrative he was trying to push but then when I went out there and did what I did, now I think the jealousy is coming in.

“Within a week (of beating Usman the second time), Colby was like ‘you need to fight me’. I was like ‘chill out’. It goes off my timing, I don’t work off him. He’s the contender, I’m the champion.

“He’s trying to fool everyone, like everything goes off what he says but it doesn’t. We’re still figuring out the next step and I’ll let him know when I’m ready.

“I’ve worked hard to be in this position to be able to call the shots and who I fight and when I fight. Now I’m here I should be able to dictate within reason who goes next and who makes the most sense.”

Covington’s recent inactivity – he has fought just three times since December 2019 and both his wins have come against now-retired fighters – meant Edwards was initially resistant to a showdown.

Edwards now seems to have warmed to the idea following Covington’s trash-talking and has his sights set on the fight taking place at UFC 294, which is set to take place on October 21 in Abu Dhabi.

Edwards said: “He’s definitely at the top of the list as far as who’s next. I just want to fight him because I don’t like him so that will be even more fuel for me in training.

“I think he’s a weirdo. He’s an alright fighter. But look at his resume compared to my resume.

“He hasn’t beaten anyone in the top five, he’s fought people at the back end of their careers and his last five fights are win-lose-win-lose-win, it’s not consistent.”

Edwards is unbeaten in his last 12 fights – with 11 wins and one no-contest against Belal Muhammad, who is also in the frame for a title shot after beating Gilbert Burns earlier this month.

Edwards said: “As far as skill-sets go, I truly don’t believe (Belal) is on my level. He’s a good fighter but I feel there are two different levels between me and him.

“I want to fight them all one day. They’re all similar fights, wrestling-based kind of guys. There’s no trickiness with the opponents.”

The Jamaica-born 31-year-old will be swapping the octagon for the football pitch after signing up for Soccer Aid at Old Trafford on June 11, where he will be in goal for a World XI against England.

The opportunity to be on the same team as Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and play against Paul Scholes is a dream come true for Edwards, who lived in the shadow of Villa Park when he first moved to the UK with his family aged nine.

He added: “To be able to share the pitch with people like that, for a kid like me it’s a dream come true. It’s a bucket list moment for me and my friends and team are excited.”

:: Tickets for Soccer Aid For UNICEF on Sunday 11th June 2023 are now on sale via www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets with a family of four able to attend for just £60 – two adults and two children

Jamaican judokas delivered outstanding performances in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, to qualify for the upcoming 2023 Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games.

Olympian Ashley McKenzie won all four of his fights the 60kg category, defeating Moises Rosado of Mexico in the final.

“I hope that winning here today sets the team in the right direction,” he said.

“I am pleased as we won our medals as a team. I am also happy with the gold as it’s my first competition back for a long time and just wanted to show what I was capable of.”

Meanwhile, Tom Davis, the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championship gold medallist fighting in the 100kg class, defeated Alexis Esquivel of Mexico before narrowly losing to Antonio Rodriguez of Venezuela in the semi-final.

He would rebound to defeat Alexander Strachan of Bahamas to claim the bronze medal.

In the plus 100kg category, Steven Moore defeated Juan Landazuri of Colombia and then overcame Marvin Salazar of Nicaragua in the semi-final. Facing current world champion Andy Granda of Cuba in the final, Moore came up short but walked away with the silver medal.

Max Stewart, a new member of the team lost in extra time tot 2018 world silver medallist Ivan Silva of Cuba leaving him to settle for repechage. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands, overpowering Derick Burgos of the Dominican Republic before going on to defeat Carlos Perez of Venezuela to win the bronze medal.

“It was great to be back on the mat again after a long-term injury. Regardless of the result, it was an amazing feeling having the team behind me every step of the way and I’m excited for my future as a Jamaican judoka,” he said afterwards.

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Ebony Drysdale-Daley also showcased her talent in the 70kg category.

She defeated Karen Murillo of Colombia before facing Creymarlin Valdez of the Dominican Republic in the quarter-final. The Jamaican judoka stunned her Dominican opponent with a left sided koshi-guruma technique and proceeded to the semis where she was compressed by Idelannis Gomez of Cuba.

She then fought Luisa Bonilla of Colombia for the bronze medal but lost and finished fifth overall.

Team leader Luke Preston expressed his pride at how well the team performed.

“I am very proud of the team’s performance,” he said. “Every single player fought for a medal and gave it their all. What impressed me just as much as the wins on the mat was the team spirit. Jamaican judo can be very proud, and the future is bright.”

Jamaica Olympic Association President (JOA), Christopher Samuda was also impressed.

“The JOA’s continued investment in our members is paying dividends. Judo, as is the case with others, is now flexing confidently its muscle and punching admirably above its weight,” he said of the performance of the athletes, who’s association became a member of the JOA in 2019.

“We, the JOA, are in the real business of creating opportunities, actualizing talent and building regional and global stages on which aspirations can be realized.”

JOA Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster hailed the speed at which the sport of judo had established itself within the Jamaican sports landscape.

“Since the 2020 Tokyo Games, the sport of judo has made tremendous strides under the leadership of the association’s president and general secretary, Dwayne Barrett and Szandra Szogedi, respectively, and the partnership between the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and the Jamaica Judo Association (JJA), continues to seize history-making opportunities in the sport,” he said.

“The five judokas who went to the Dominican Republic to qualify for the 2023 El Salvador CAC Games reaped success in stocking the association’s cabinet with medals which looks set to be decorated with more when the games in El Salvador get on the way on June 23.”

Shiaeine Blake, Jamaica's 155lbs Rough Fight League (RFL) Amateur MMA Lightweight Champion, will be fighting for a kickboxing title at the International Combat Sports Championships set for the LB Scott Auditorium in Phillipsburg, St Maarten, on Saturday, December 3.

Blake will be part of an eight-member team that Jamaica sends to the championships considered to be one of the major combat sports tournaments for countries in the Caribbean and Central America.

The team also includes professional fighters mixed martial artist Kasrie Cassells, who will take on hometown boy Akeem Lewis at 185lbs in the feature bout and Nakia Anderson will battle for a title at 145lbs.

Also in the team sponsored by shipping company Aeolus Shipping, Caribbean Dreams and illmatic Services are amateur MMA fighters, Nicholai Reid and Demar Haslam. Blake fights in the amateur kickboxing category along with Roberto Williams, Chris Daley, and Shanice Blake, his sister.

Radcliffe Cunningham, Blake’s trainer explained that while his fighter does not have a record in kickboxing, his accomplishments in MMA qualify him to fight for a title this coming weekend. Notwithstanding his relative inexperience as a kickboxer, Blake, meanwhile, has expressed supreme confidence at coming home with the 155lb title.

“A beautiful victory shall be had,” he told Sportsmax.TV. “My base is in stand up. The groundwork is the most recent addition.

“I have been training in this for a while so I want to go and execute properly and have a beautiful performance. I want something that people will remember because oftentimes you watch fights and it’s just punches and kicks, I want my performance to evoke emotion. I want to display that artistic side of it.”

Having successfully defended his MMA title five times, including his recent victory over Trinidadian Joshua Jones in Trinidad in October, Blake has good reason to be confident. Having been in training all year, he has maintained his competition readiness. But for this coming tournament, he ramped up his preparation.

“I have been training six days a week for the past six to eight weeks but the training has not stopped all year because I have been in competition all year. Training for this, I have been getting in a lot more running, a lot more sparring than I usually do,” he said.

“So the training has been a little bit rough on the body; thank God Christmas is coming soon so we can get a little break and we can eat and not have to worry about diets and all that - but it’s all been done properly and in good faith that we are prepared properly for this upcoming event.”

Winning in St Maarten, he said, would also be a great way to build momentum into 2023 when he launches his campaign to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

“I believe I am ranked first in the Caribbean so it is a matter of upholding that rank and lengthening the distance between me and the rest of the field," he said.

“Boxing nationals are coming up in January. I want to use that to qualify for other events that lead-up to the Olympics in two years’ time, so that’s the main medium-term goal I am looking at right now.”

Blake’s ambition and confidence has helped him attract supporting sponsors like Aeolus Shipping that in addition to backing the national team, has also built a strong relationship with the rising MMA star.

“We are so happy to be on board. We are definitely fans of boxing and MMA sports and to know that we have Jamaican talent in this sport is something that we want to highlight and spread awareness and we are looking forward to great things from Shiaeine and this brand partnership,” said Jessica Dewar, Marketing Director at Aeolus.

“We couldn’t be happier to be a huge support to his journey and we wish him all the best. Over the last two to three years we have seen him blossom and grow on his journey to become a huge brand representative for the country and in the international sphere. We are looking forward to seeing him do great things.”

He, in turn, expressed his gratitude for the support being provided for him and the team.

“We couldn’t have gotten the team over there without them and it is something that I have been talking with them about for some time,” Blake said.

“They have always supported the fights that I have. Them reaching out to us shows that there is support and their supporting us in this endeavor -  a lot of times when I compete and post things online people are saying is this really happening in Jamaica - the wider community doesn’t really know about it (the sport) so for them to now be on brand with us helping us to get out there to the wider public, we are really happy about it.”

The team departs Jamaica on Tuesday, November 29.