Oh what a difference a few months makes.

Last May, Amanda Nunes declared that she wasn’t interested in fighting Cris Cyborg because Cyborg wasn’t the 145-pound champion. Now that Cyborg has the belt though, and following Cyborg’s unanimous decision win over Holly Holm at UFC 219, Nunes has come out publicly stating an interest in the bout, and according to one of her coaches at American Top Team, she seems very confident about the potential matchup.

Speaking recently on The Morning Wood Show podcast he hosts with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, Din Thomas said that he was with Nunes shortly before UFC 219, and the bantamweight champion said she wanted to fight Cyborg because she doesn’t think Cyborg poses a threat to her.

“For the longest time, everybody’s been saying that Amanda didn’t want to fight Cyborg,” said Thomas. “I don’t really know how that rumor got started but everybody thought that, but I was hanging out with Amanda two weeks ago and I was at her crib and she was like, ‘Hey, I want to fight Cyborg. I hope she wins.’

“It wasn’t on no beef, she was just like, ‘I want to fight whoever wins.’ I was like, ‘You want to fight Cyborg?’ and she said, ‘Yeah I want to fight Cyborg. I don’t see what the threat is.’ That’s what she was telling me.

“For her to want that fight, I was like, hell yeah, let’s get this fight. She doesn’t see the threat that everybody thought was there for her. She doesn’t see it and I love that about Amanda when it comes to this fight. I think she presents way more problems than people think that she can give Cyborg.”

Since arriving in the UFC, Nunes has put together an impressive run, including her current six-fight winning streak which has seen her win the belt and defend it twice. Cyborg’s run is even more impressive.

Unbeaten since her pro debut, Cyborg has long been considered one of the best female fighters on the planet, the biggest knock against her being the lack of competition in her weight class. But her move to the UFC has incentivized more elite bantamweight fighters to move up a class and challenge for the featherweight title. Nunes is the latest to want to take on that task and UFC President Dana White is interested in making the fight happen but now there’s another problem: Cyborg doesn’t want the fight.

Cyborg says she would prefer to fight to fight a top contender in her weight class instead of a superfight with Nunes. Megan Anderson is Cyborg’s preferred next opponent. Anderson and Cyborg were originally set to fight at UFC 214 but personal issues forced Anderson to withdraw from the bout. Instead, Cyborg accepted a fight against Tonya Evinger for the vacant title and it’s that fight that first put the idea in Thomas’s head that Nunes could beat Cyborg, an idea he says only strengthened after watching Cyborg fight Holm.

“She smashed her but Tonya hung in there,” said Thomas. “She hung in there. She took a lot of punishment too but she hung in there. But even at that moment I was like, You know what? Amanda would have done a lot better. Now I’m thinking, you know what? I think Amanda’s gonna kick her ass. I’m looking forward to it.”

Whether or not Nunes will get the opportunity rests largely on Cyborg’s willingness to accept the fight in the first place. But Thomas says that it’s in the best interest of everyone, especially the fans, for Cyborg to do so.

“Cyborg doesn’t have anyone else to fight really that anyone is gonna really care about.”

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MUST-READ STORIES

Bellator. Big John McCarthy is joining the Bellator commentary team.

Ref. McCarthy not retiring from refereeing but stepping back to focus on new role.

Injury. Tonya Evinger is injured, out of fight with Marion Reneau at UFC Austin.

UFC bound? Jimmy Smith opens up about Bellator departure and possible UFC future.

No Time. Volkan Oezdemir pleads not guilty to felony charge, won’t affect UFC 220.

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VIDEO STEW

Stone Cold Stipe.

And arguably Stipe’s best KO.

Hawaii pride.

Stay on the journey.

Drill to better your hands.

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LISTEN UP

The MMA (After) Hour. Ric’s Picks and Fan Q & A.

Obviously Fight Talk. Previewing UFC St. Louis.

The MMA Circus. Discussing UFC St. Louis and John McCarthy to Bellator.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Rough.

Unclear what this is about.

Good luck.

Hawaii.

Now we know why Gaethje couldn’t kill Eddie. He’s already a corpse.

Let the rumors begin anew.

Gotta respect this.

Let the Vanilla Gorilla eat.

Absolutely savage.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Renan Barao (35-4, 1 NC) vs. Brian Kelleher (18-8); UFC on Fox 28, Feb. 24.

Sam Alvey (31-10) vs. Marcin Prachnio (13-2); ; UFC on Fox 28, Feb. 24.

Rustam Khabilov (22-3) vs. Kajan Johnson (22-12-1); UFC London, March 17.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2010: Ben Henderson submitted Jamie Varner with a guillotine choke at WEC 46 to become the undisputed lightweight title.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m going on the record and saying Amanda Nunes will beat Cyborg if they ever fight. And that Valentina Shevchenko beats both of them. Bullet Train, woo woo!

Thanks to AK Lee for stepping up to take care of the MR yesterday. Give that man a follow on the Twitter machine. Other than that, take it easy and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting, and like us on Facebook.