Ahead of his championship trilogy rubber match with two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 in June, former undisputed bantamweight champion, Julianna Peña claims she is suffering from an apparent back injury – due to carrying the Brazilian and keeping the duel-weight best “relevant”.
Peña, the current #1 ranked bantamweight contender, is slated to headline UFC 289 on June 10. in Vancouver, British Columbia against undisputed bantamweight and featherweight titleholder, Nunes – attempting to reclaim a bantamweight title
Taking main event honors against the Bahia native at UFC 277 back in July of last year, Peña, the then-undisputed bantamweight champion, dropped her title to Nunes in a one-sided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-43) loss to the Brazilian.
However, lodging one of the biggest upset successes in both Octagon and sport’s antiquity, Peña stopped Nunes’ undefeated run with a stunning second round rear-naked choke win at UFC 269 back in December 2019, snatching the undisputed bantmaweight crown in the process.
Julianna Peña claims her back is hurting from carrying Amanda Nunes to UFC 289
And now slated to headline the organization’s return to Canada as part of a flagship pay-per-view event, Washington native, Peña claims she is keeping the pound-for-pound best “relevant” in the sport.
“I’m a star,” Julianna Peña told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “You realize how bad my back hurts right now? My back is broken, okay, from carrying this fight and from making her (Amanda Nunes) relevant again after I beat her the first time.”
“Literally, my back hurts,” Julianna Peña explained. “We are, of course, going to be main event. I’m carrying us all the way there – like I always do.” (Transcribed by MMA News)
These recent comments from the outspoken, Peña, follows claims recently which she made, detailing how members of her team have informed her how Nunes intends to retire in the near future – in order to have children, and return to visit her family in her native Brazil.