In The Challenge: Ride or Dies final, four teams had to endure a 100-hour final to win a $1 million prize. That included various checkpoints such as solving puzzles, throwing bolas, hiking, biking, and consuming massive quantities of food.
Along the way, injuries occurred, including rookie Olivia Kaiser having to leave the game after a slingshot she attempted to fire at a target backfired and a golf ball hit her face, breaking it in five places.
Veteran Aneesa Ferreira also got injured when she rolled her ankle while taking a path through the forest that her teammate Jordan Wiseley suggested as they were traveling along a marked path for the final.
Aneesa’s injury came into play as it hindered her and Jordan’s ability to move as fast as they might have had she not been hurt.
However, it also came into play later on, as there was a final elimination at the ending spot for the Ride or Dies final. Nany Gonzalez had to go head-to-head with Aneesa in Balls In and used a defensive strategy of going low to take down Aneesa.
Some critics may have suggested that Nany’s tactic was a dirty way to play the game, and Aneesa recently addressed that situation.
The Challenge’s Aneesa Ferreira addresses Ride or Dies final elimination
During the Official Challenge Podcast, Aneesa spoke about competing in that Ride or Dies final elimination matchup against her friend Nany. She admitted she wasn’t going to quit and would have to “collapse” before they could take her out of the final.
“I would have done that final elimination until I couldn’t,” Aneesa said, noting she knew she was close to that $1 million prize and would’ve competed against Tori Deal too.
“My body was literally like, ‘You can’t do anymore,'” Aneesa shared, adding, “It was a hard pill to swallow.”
Podcast co-host Da’Vonne Rogers mentioned how she “wasn’t a fan” of Nany going after Aneesa’s injury. Da’Vonne asked her co-hosts, Tori, Aneesa, and Devyn Simone, if they would’ve done the same to their friend if a million dollars was on the line.
Devyn argued that she was OK with the move, as everyone signed up to compete and didn’t think it was “illegal” or “dirty play” by Nany.
Aneesa spoke up, saying she knows she’s not as fast as Nany, but she does have “mass on her.” Aneesa said her strategy when on offense with the ball was to use her size advantage to walk Nany into the circle with her every time.
“She knew where I was gonna go. Johnny was like, ‘Hit her low and do whatever,'” Aneesa shared during the podcast episode.
“She had to do whatever she had to do in that moment. She isn’t the reason for why I’m injured. You know what I mean? So I don’t hold that against her,” Aneesa said.
During her confessional in the Ride or Dies final, a producer asked Aneesa if she took it personally that Nany was going after her injured body part in the elimination.
“I mean, Nany needs a strategy. How else is she gonna pull me down to the ground? I’m bigger than her. I can’t blame her for fighting,” Aneesa replied during the episode.
Will Aneesa return for The Challenge again?
With Ride or Dies season, Aneesa was making her 16th appearance in MTV’s competition series. It was her fourth consecutive season and third appearance in a final. The others came with The Duel II and The Gauntlet 2 earlier in her career.
She also appeared in Paramount Plus’ spinoff show, The Challenge: All Stars, showing up for the debut season, where she reached the final and finished in ninth place.
With Ride or Dies finished on MTV, a new spinoff, The Challenge: World Championship, will arrive on Paramount Plus. It premieres on March 8, but Aneesa was not listed among the Legends appearing in the cast from MTV.
There’s also a fourth season of All Stars on the way, but there hasn’t been any official cast announcement. Based on rumors for The Challenge Season 39, availability calls have gone out for the next season, so it’s still too early to know if Aneesa will return or take a break.
Additional rumors about The Challenge: USA Season 2 have suggested that the show might include MTV stars along with the CBS stars. One of those rumored for the cast is Aneesa, along with her friends Tori, Nany, and Jordan.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies Reunion Part 2 airs Wednesday, March 1, on MTV at 8/7c.