Holly Holm defends Amanda Nunes’ UFC retirement: ‘She didn’t retire because she’s scared of Julianna Peña’

Holly Holm claims Amanda Nunes is not scared of Julianna Peña retirement UFCAhead of her own return tonight in the main event of UFC Vegas 77, former bantamweight champion, Holly Holm has stressed that former foe and former two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes has no fear toward former gold holder, Julianna Peña – in the wake of her retirement last month. Holm, a former undisputed bantamweight champion, returns […]

Holly Holm claims Amanda Nunes is not scared of Julianna Peña retirement UFC

Ahead of her own return tonight in the main event of UFC Vegas 77, former bantamweight champion, Holly Holm has stressed that former foe and former two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes has no fear toward former gold holder, Julianna Peña – in the wake of her retirement last month.

Holm, a former undisputed bantamweight champion, returns to the Octagon for the second time this year, headlining against surging Brazilian grappler, Mayra Bueno Silva – attempting to land her second consecutive victory following a unanimous decision win over Russian veteran, Yana Santos at UFC Fight Night San Antonio back in March.

As for Nunes, the Bahia native headlined UFC 288 back in June against common-foe, Irene Aldana, defeating the Mexican in a one-sided unanimous decision win to defend her bantamweight crown – before announcing her retirement from competition with immediate effect.

And in the aftermath of Nunes’ decision to walk away from the sport, Washington native, Peña claimed that the Brazilian was fearful of defeat against her, claiming she skirted a championship trilogy rubber match. 

Holly Holm defends Amanda Nunes’ decision to retire following UFC 288

However, as far as Albuquerque veteran, Holly Holm is concerned, Nunes’ decision to retire was not influenced by an apparent fear of ex-champion, Peña.

“(Amanda) Nunes didn’t retire because she’s scared of (Julianna) Peña,” Holly Holm told MMA Fighting ahead of UFC Vegas 77. “We all know that. But Peña beat Nunes fair and square. Who knows what was going on. I’m not trying to take away from Peña at all. She went in and she won that night, so I take nothing away from that, but Nunes is not scared of Peña.” 

15-6 as a professional, Holm, the current number three ranked bantamweight contender, became just the second bantamweight champion in the history of the UFC back in December 2015, knocking out inaugural champion, Ronda Rousey with a brutal second round high-kick KO in Australia

Ronda Rousey again tipped as title candidate in UFC return: ‘If anyone deserves to cut the line’

Ronda RouseyRumors continue to swirl regarding the possible return of women’s MMA pioneer ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey following Amanda Nunes’ retirement from the sport last month. After running roughshod over the bantamweight and featherweight divisions for nearly a decade, Nunes walked away from the sport following a decisive unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289. […]

Ronda Rousey

Rumors continue to swirl regarding the possible return of women’s MMA pioneer ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey following Amanda Nunes’ retirement from the sport last month.

After running roughshod over the bantamweight and featherweight divisions for nearly a decade, Nunes walked away from the sport following a decisive unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289. Since her announcement, bantamweight contenders have come out of the woodwork, looking for a title opportunity now that the division is essentially wide open.

The likeliest scenario will see the division’s top two ranked contenders, Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington, square off for the vacant 135-pound crown, but recent rumors suggest that fans could witness the return of the promotion’s first-ever female world champion, Ronda Rousey. Rowdy’ is undoubtedly the most influential woman in the history of the sport, paving the way for women to compete inside the Octagon despite Dana White’s claims that women would never compete on his global stage.

Speaking about the possibility of a Ronda Rousey return, UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik suggested that women who have stayed active in the division are likely more deserving of the opportunity, but he can’t deny the excitement and intrigue that would come with Rousey making a comeback to the Octagon after seven years away from the sport.

“I would encourage it, in some part, but I would also be hypocritical if I said to you she should come back and fight for the title just because of this Amanda Nunes vacancy,” Anik said while walking the red carpet at the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony. In the past, I have said aloud I didn’t love that Henry Cejudo got to come back and cut the entire line of all these bantamweight contenders that had been in the gauntlet, that had been in the USADA pool for three years, right?

“I like a meritocracy, and there are definitely worthwhile contenders – Raquel Pennington and Juliana Peña chief among them. So, as a mixed martial arts fan, I get a little bit uneasy when someone comes back having not competed and just cuts the line. But if anyone deserves to cut the line, it’s probably Ronda” (h/t Yahoo! News).

UFC 290 Ad Has Fans in a Frenzy Over the Potential Return of Ronda Rousey

Going 12-2 in her bright, but brief career, Ronda Rousey captured both the Strikeforce and UFC bantamweight world championships while amassing an incredible 100% finish rate and nine sub-one-minute victories. After becoming the biggest name in MMA, Rousey hit a brick wall in 2015 named Holly Holm. ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ scored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, knocking out ‘Rowdy’ 59 seconds into the second round of their bantamweight title tilt. Devastated by the defeat, Rousey took the next year off, but returned in December 2016 in what she had hoped would be a return to form.

Unfortunately, the woman she was matched up with was none other than Amanda Nunes. ‘The Lioness’ blitzed Rousey, earning a 48-second KO that sent Ronda Rousey into retirement. Since then, ‘Rowdy’ has been busy honing her craft in the WWE as one of sports entertainment’s top draws. In 2019, Rousey once again made history by becoming the first woman to main event WWE’s annual extravaganza, WrestleMania, alongside fellow WWE Superstars Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

Recent reports suggest Ronda Rousey could be on her way out of the WWE, leading many fans to speculate a potential return to the Octagon with Amanda Nunes no longer a threat. Some fuel was added to that fire when Rousey was spotted as part of a DraftKings promo for UFC 290.

With UFC 300 less than a year away, the stars could be aligning for what would be one of the biggest returns in MMA history.

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes rematch wasn’t one sided: ‘It was a lot closer than people give me credit for’

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes rematch was closer than people give her credit for UFCDespite suffering a unanimous decision loss to former two-weight UFC champion, Amanda Nunes back in July of last year in the pair’s championship rematch, former bantamweight titleholder, Julianna Peña has claimed that her unsuccessful re-run wasn’t particularly one-sided as its made out to be. Peña, the current number one ranked bantamweight contender and former undisputed […]

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes rematch was closer than people give her credit for UFC

Despite suffering a unanimous decision loss to former two-weight UFC champion, Amanda Nunes back in July of last year in the pair’s championship rematch, former bantamweight titleholder, Julianna Peña has claimed that her unsuccessful re-run wasn’t particularly one-sided as its made out to be.

Peña, the current number one ranked bantamweight contender and former undisputed division champion, has been sidelined since headlining UFC 277 back in July of last year, suffering a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44- 50-43) loss to the former two-division gold holder.

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes took the easy way out with retirement

Suffering multiple knockdowns and lacerations in her title defense rematch with Nunes, Peña, who recently went on a tirade against the Brazilian following her retirement from mixed martial arts back in June, claimed their rematch last year wasn’t as one-sided as it appeared.

“I’ll always want to fight her (Amanda Nunes) if she decides to return, absolutely,” Julianna Peña told ESPN during a recent interview. “There’s fights that are on my bucket list of things that I want to get back, things that I want to do, and she’s absolutely one of them. I definitely think she knows that because all they’re looking at is probably highlights.”

“What I would encourage fans to do is go back and watch that fight and actually take into account, without the commentary or anything, just watch the fight,” Julianna Peña explained. “You’ll see that it was a lot closer than people want to give me credit for. They see the drops, they see me getting knocked down and yeah, it absolutely happened. But I let her take the time to go make those adjustments and revamp her entire style. I felt like it was kind of a snub for her to not let me have the same opportunity.” 

Miesha Tate believes she is ‘one fight away’ from vying for UFC bantamweight championship

Miesha TateFormer UFC bantamweight world champion Miesha Tate believes the division is now wide open with champ-champ Amanda Nunes walking away from the sport last month. Following a lopsided decision victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289, Nunes announced her official retirement from the sport of MMA. With the bantamweight title now vacated and the division […]

Miesha Tate

Former UFC bantamweight world champion Miesha Tate believes the division is now wide open with champ-champ Amanda Nunes walking away from the sport last month.

Following a lopsided decision victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289, Nunes announced her official retirement from the sport of MMA. With the bantamweight title now vacated and the division wide open, everyone is chomping at the bit to get their shot at the 135-pound crown. That includes the former queen of the division, Miesha Tate.

“There’s no way any of us were beating her. So, thank god because now the division is wide open and I believe I’m one fight away,” Tate said while walking the red carpet at the UFC Hall of Fame Ceremony on Thursday night. “I know that probably sounds wild to some people. Like, ‘Wait a minute,’ but if you think about it, since my return, I had a really dominant finish win and then I had a very close decision loss to a top-five girl, Ketlen Vieira.

“So, although I haven’t been super active, I still think with a comeback at 135 against a top-quality opponent, at least my name could be dropped in the bucket. Not saying that I would be picked for sure, but I’d at least like to be talked about in being in contention.”

Miesha Tate Joins a Long List of Women Looking to Capitalize on Amanda Nunes’ Retirement

Tate captured the bantamweight title in 2016 via a fifth-round submission against former champ Holly Holm. Four months later, ‘Cupcake’ relinquished the title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. Following a second-straight loss against Raquel Pennington, Tate walked away from the sport, but made her triumphant return five years later, earning a TKO against Marion Reneau. Unfortunately, Tate was unable to build on that momentum and dropped a decision to Ketlen Vieira.

Looking for a change of pace, Miesha Tate made the move to flyweight in her last outing, but once again came up short against one-time title challenger Lauren Murphy.

With Amanda Nunes walking away, it leaves the door open for multiple women to swoop in and stake their claim at the vacant world title. The likeliest scenario has the division’s top-two ranked contenders, Julianna Pena, and Raquel Pennington, meeting inside the Octagon to crown a new bantamweight queen, but we wouldn’t count out Miesha Tate getting the nod thanks to her popularity among MMA fans.

Another name being tossed around is none other than the first-ever UFC women’s champion, ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey. The MMA-icon-turned-WWE Superstar has been attached to rumors suggesting a return to the Octagon is imminent following Amanda Nunes’ retirement. Rousey is undoubtedly the biggest star in women’s MMA history and would likely walk right into a world title fight should she sign on the dotted line for a UFC return.

Who would you like to see compete for the vacant women’s bantamweight championship?

Julianna Peña laments failed trilogy fight with UFC rival Amanda Nunes: ‘She chose the easy way out’

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes chose the easy way out of rivalry UFCInitially sharing her distaste with former two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes’ decision to retire from mixed martial arts following UFC 288 last month, former undisputed bantamweight champion, Julianna Peña claims the Brazilian chose the “easy way out” of a potential trilogy rubber match against her. Peña, the current number one ranked contender at the bantamweight limit […]

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes chose the easy way out of rivalry UFC

Initially sharing her distaste with former two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes’ decision to retire from mixed martial arts following UFC 288 last month, former undisputed bantamweight champion, Julianna Peña claims the Brazilian chose the “easy way out” of a potential trilogy rubber match against her.

Peña, the current number one ranked contender at the bantamweight limit and a former undisputed champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined since headlining UFC 277 back in July of last year, dropping a hugely lopsided unanimous decision loss to Bahia veteran, Nunes in the pair’s title rematch.

Initially springing a shocking upset win over the former featherweight champion in December 2021, Peña, a victor of The Ultimate Fighter to boot – managed to land a stunning second round rear-naked choke win over Nunes in the pair’s undisputed bantamweight title affair.

And since booked to headline the aforenoted UFC 288 event in Vancouver, Canada against Nunes last month, Peña was forced to withdraw from the title headliner after suffering fractured ribs in the run-up to the bout.

Eventually, Nunes headlined in another one-sided judging win over replacement, Irene Aldana – and immediately confirmed her decision to retire from mixed martial arts competition off the back of the title retention.

Julianna Peña claims Amanda Nunes took the “easy way out” following UFC 288

Irate following her rival’s decision to call time on her illustrious career, Peña has since claimed that Nunes has taken the easy way of a potential future rubber match.

“It’s just a little frustrating and I think I was definitely showing my frustration there cageside, which of course that’s what I’m gonna do when they’re sticking the camera in my face and asking me what’re my thoughts after every single round,” Julianna Peña told ESPN. “I got a little ahead of myself.”

“As a mom, as a human, I wish her the best,” Julianna Peña continued. “Enjoy your retirement, you know what I mean? Have a good time. But on a professional level, I’m like, you can’t go when we’re 1-1. You gotta finish it out. You gotta see it through. So, I think she knew what was in store for her and that’s why she chose the easy way out and I guess we’ll never know.”

Ronda Rousey backed as ‘Worthy’ of vacant bantamweight title opportunity in rumored UFC comeback

Ronda Rousey backed as worthy of fighting for UFC bantamweight title in potential returnInaugural bantamweight champion, tturned WWE superstar, Ronda Rousey – has been linked with a potential comeback to professional mixed martial arts competition, and furthermore, the UFC, off the back of former-foe, Amanda Nunes’ retirement. And according to UFC play-by-play lead, Jon Anik, out of all the fighters to snap a retirement for an immediate title […]

Ronda Rousey backed as worthy of fighting for UFC bantamweight title in potential return

Inaugural bantamweight champion, tturned WWE superstar, Ronda Rousey – has been linked with a potential comeback to professional mixed martial arts competition, and furthermore, the UFC, off the back of former-foe, Amanda Nunes’ retirement. And according to UFC play-by-play lead, Jon Anik, out of all the fighters to snap a retirement for an immediate title shot, Rousey is likely worthy. 

Rousey, who boasts a 12-2 mixed martial arts record, most recently featured atop a UFC 207 pay-per-view event back in December 2018 against the aforenoted former two-division champion, Nunes – suffering a staggering 48-second TKO defeat to the Brazilian in an unsuccessful quest to reclaim bantamweight spoils.

In her sole other professional defeat, Rousey suffered a catastrophic second round high-kick KO loss to common-foe, Holly Holm in her UFC 193 title defense in Australia – seeing her undefeated run as undisputed bantamweight champion come to a crashing halt.

However, since switching to professional wrestling in a highly-successful tenure with the WWE, Ronda Rousey has been linked to a return to combat sports and the UFC in particular – even more so after the retirement of Nunes following her bantamweight title defense at UFC 289 earlier this month.

Ronda Rousey has been linked with a potential UFC return

And according to UFC favorite, Anik, Rousey would likely come as the sole former champion returning to a title shot which would be worthy of that opportunity, however, fellow fighters and those in the sport would largely question the meritocracy of the title fight.

“In a true meritocracy, that’s not gonna sit well with me nor the athletes that have been donating blood, sweat, and tears to mixed martial arts over the last several years,” Jon Anik told MMA Fighting. “If anyone is worthy of that opportunity, it’s probably Ronda Rousey, and I do believe that she would be competitive. She wouldn’t enter that setting without the guarantee that she would be competitive.”

“But, I didn’t like that Henry Cejudo came back and cut the line of a bunch of 35ers that have been active,” Anik explained. “So it would be hypocritical of me to say ‘Absolutely’ – but if there were ever a time, it would be absolutely now.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

12-0 before her title loss to Holm, Rousey, who defended the undisputed bantamweight title against Liz Carmouche back in 2013, before racking up subsequent successful title defenses over Miesha Tate, Sara McMann, Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano, and Bethe Correia. 

Prior to landing in the UFC, Ronda Rousey defeated the likes of Sarah Kaufman, the aforenoted, Tate, Julia Budd, and Charmaine Tweet.