Amanda Nunes changes gears, apologizes to Ronda Rousey after news of Rousey's possible retirement breaks

Amanda Nunes wasn’t completely ignored before she defended her women’s bantamweight title against Ronda Rousey on Dec. 30 in the main event of UFC 207 in Las Vegas, but it would be conservative to say the promotion was 95 percent about Rousey.

Nunes quietly stewed in the background, insisting she wasn’t bothered by the slight. But after those violent 48 seconds in which she knocked Rousey out, a very different, much more animated Nunes surfaced.

The change in Nunes emerged even before she had made it to her locker room in T-Mobile Arena, where she was spraying a bottle of champagne in excitement. As she passed the media on her way out of the Octagon, Nunes shouted at reporters, who were busily pecking away at their keyboards to document her dominant win, about the lack of respect she’d been afforded pre-fight.

And so, beginning the night of the fight and continuing on for several weeks, she unleashed a torrent of abuse on Rousey. On fight night, she posted a photo on Twitter of a woman pushing a baby carriage. She had her face photoshopped in place of the mother’s and Rousey’s face on top of the baby’s.

On and on it went.

Until Tuesday, that is. And it seems someone got to her, because Nunes did a 180 after word broke that Rousey may no longer compete. It was a much more politically correct Nunes who posted on Instagram to comment on Rousey’s possible retirement.

Nunes complimented Rousey in her Instagram post and apologized for some of the harsh things she said.

This post certainly has the look of an athlete who heard from an adviser or a publicist somewhere along the line who told her that taunting one of the sport’s biggest stars, and a clear favorite of her boss, wasn’t such a good thing.

One can never go wrong by being classy and respectful, and so in that respect, Nunes did the right thing.

But despite her accomplishments heading into the Rousey fight, and there were many, she was a largely unknown fighter until she shared the cage with the ex-champ. And now, she’s one of the most in-demand fighters in the sport.

Much of that, obviously, has to do with the brutal beating she laid down, but fans also saw for the first time a glimpse into her personality. And it seems they liked what they saw.

She’s going to fight Valentina Shevchenko next, since Shevchenko’s impressive arm bar victory over Julianna Pena on Saturday in Denver. They’ve fought before, and Nunes held off a charging Shevchenko to win a decision, and so there is sure to be plenty of pre-fight talk.

What will be interesting to say is if it’s the opinionated, outstpoken, uber-confident Nunes that pushes her bout or the seemingly chastised more politically correct champ.

Stay tuned.