UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko isn’t short of confidence ahead of potential rematches with Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña. Shevchenko is slated to face Taila Santos in her next flyweight title defense at UFC 275. The event will take place in Singapore and be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Glover Teixeira…
UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko isn’t short of confidence ahead of potential rematches with Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña.
Shevchenko is slated to face Taila Santos in her next flyweight title defense at UFC 275. The event will take place in Singapore and be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Glover Teixeira and Ji?í Procházka.
Before she began her flyweight title reign, she was a top contender in the bantamweight division. She lost two competitive fights to Nunes and defeated Peña via a second-round armbar in 2017.
During the UFC 275 pre-fight virtual press conference, Shevchenko shared her thoughts on a potential bout against either Nunes or Peña.
“Either way I don’t care really. I can fight both of them at the same time, like whatever,” Shevchenko claimed.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
“It’s a mental game for all fighters. We know exactly Amanda doesn’t have this mental game very strong in her previous fight. We can see that everyone can break their mental game, but I have a very strong mental game.” (h/t SCMP)
Before Peña defeated Nunes at UFC 269 last December, Shevchenko seemed open to the idea of a Nunes trilogy. However, Peña pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history by finishing Nunes in Round 2.
Shevchenko took the No. 1 women’s pound-for-pound spot after Nunes lost to Peña. She pulled off dominant wins over Lauren Murphy and Jéssica Andrade in her last two title defenses in 2021.
If Shevchenko can defend her title against Santos at UFC 275, she would’ve defeated most of the top flyweight contenders. This could create a precedent for a potential matchup with the Nunes/Peña winner for a chance to become a two-weight world champion.
Do you like Valentina Shevchenko’s chances in potential rematches with Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes?
The full fight card for July’s UFC 277 pay-per-view was revealed during the UFC Vegas 55 broadcast, and the main event will feature the highly anticipated bantamweight title rematch between champion Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes. It had already been confirmed that Peña and Nunes would fight at the conclusion of the current season of…
The full fight card for July’s UFC 277 pay-per-view was revealed during the UFC Vegas 55 broadcast, and the main event will feature the highly anticipated bantamweight title rematch between champion Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes.
It had already been confirmed that Peña and Nunes would fight at the conclusion of the current season of The Ultimate Fighter of which both women are coaching. Now, we know the date and location, as the PPV event will take place on July 30 in Dallas, Texas.
Also made official is the interim flyweight bout between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France. Champion Deiveson Figueiredo is currently sidelined with a finger injury, and there is no clear timetable for his return.
Kai Kara-France earned a crack at interim gold by pulling together three consecutive wins, the last two coming over former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt in a Performance of the Night-winning outing as well as a unanimous decision over Askar Askarov last March.
Former champion Brandon Moreno has only lost one fight in his last eight fights, with the sole defeat being against Figueiredo in their trilogy fight at UFC 270. Prior to this, Moreno defeated Figueiredo via rear-naked choke to win the title at UFC 263 and thereby became the first Mexican-born champion in the promotion’s history.
Also made official on the main card is the return of KO king Derrick Lewis, where the slugger will be facing Sergei Pavlovich.
It has also been confirmed that Paulo Costa will be remaining at middleweight after all as he will officially be facing the returning Luke Rockhold in a bout that will no doubt have many eyes locked in. And closing out the main card is a major bout between top-5 light heavyweights Magomed Ankalaev (#4) and Anthony Smith (#5).
You can view the full lineup for UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes below!
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña doesn’t consider herself a real champion just yet. Peña finished Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 back in December via second-round submission to capture the 135-pound throne. Now, Peña will coach opposite Nunes on The Ultimate Fighter 30 on ESPN+. After which, the pair will rematch for the title, which…
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña doesn’t consider herself a real champion just yet.
Peña finished Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 back in December via second-round submission to capture the 135-pound throne. Now, Peña will coach opposite Nunes on The Ultimate Fighter 30 on ESPN+. After which, the pair will rematch for the title, which will be Peña’s first defense of the belt.
Speaking to TMZ Sports recently, Peña discussed her current title reign and her looming rematch with Nunes. In regards to being champion, Peña still sees herself as a contender, referring to the old saying, ‘You’re not the champion until you defend the belt.’
“For me, I still feel like a contender,” Peña said. “I still feel like there’s a target on my back, and I still feel like there’s more work to be done. I’m not content with just ‘Oh you got the belt.’
“No! You’re not a champ until you defend it and until you solidify ‘This is my belt.’ So for me, I’m waking up every morning thinking ‘I still haven’t hit my goal.’ I still haven’t hit my goal yet.
“So as long as I can keep that mindset of just grinding, staying humble, just nose to the grindstone, just putting in that work, then I’ll be able to maybe confidently say, ‘Yeah, I got a leg up on her.’ But right now, I absolutely do not. I still have work to be done.”
Prior to her loss to Peña, Nunes had established herself as the most dominant force in women’s mixed martial arts (MMA) history. Nunes had amassed a 12-fight win streak, including wins over Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg, as well as a simultaneous reign as both 135-and 145-pound champion.
Now, Nunes has finished coaching the heavyweights and women’s flyweights opposite Peña on TUF 30 before finally rematching for the bantamweight throne.
Who are you picking in the rematch between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña? Sound off in the comments below!
It seems there is no love lost between former opponents Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Peña, at least not on the side of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion. Shevchenko and Peña shared the Octagon in the main event of UFC on FOX 23 back in 2017. At the time, neither woman held gold. While “Bullet” was…
It seems there is no love lost between former opponents Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Peña, at least not on the side of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion.
Shevchenko and Peña shared the Octagon in the main event of UFC on FOX 23 back in 2017. At the time, neither woman held gold. While “Bullet” was coming off a victory over Holly Him, which followed her first loss to Amanda Nunes, “The Venezuelan Vixen” was unbeaten at 4-0 in the UFC and had defeated Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano in her prior two outings.
Towards the end of the second round, Peña’s solid clinch work early in the fight and impressive takedown were rendered useless by a flash armbar, securing victory and a bantamweight title shot for Shevchenko.
DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 27: (L-R) Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan and Julianna Peña face off during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at the Pepsi Center on January 27, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Now five years on, Shevchenko sits on the flyweight throne, which she has maintained with ease across six defenses. Meanwhile, Peña recently secured her own piece of hardware at UFC 269 last December by achieving a feat Shevchenko failed to accomplish on two separate occasions: beating Nunes.
Now, Shevchenko has assessed the relatively-new reign of her former opponent, but has pinpointed the 135-pound queen’s work outside the cage, rather than in it.
Shevchenko: Peña Is Trying To Speak Bad About Everyone
During a recent interview with James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA, Shevchenko spoke about the possibility of moving up to challenge Peña in a rematch, something the bantamweight titleholder has noted as a priority following her second meeting with Nunes.
However, the Kyrgyzstani star noted her belief that it’s very unlikely the “Lioness” will fall like she did at UFC 269 when the pair run it back.
“You know, it’s doubtful that the second fight will be the same outcome. It is very doubtful,” claimed Shevchenko.
Discussing what she seemingly believes will be a short-lived rule on the bantamweight throne, Shevchenko suggested that Peña is attempting to gather as much attention as she can while she’s on top.
“I like how Julianna, she’s like, playing mean and trying to speak bad about everyone. No matter who, like her category, not her [category], different promotions, she just speak about everyone. This is, I feel, a strategy for every person who wants to get attention. They are trying to bite every single person.”
While Shevchenko doesn’t seem to be anticipating “The Venezuelan Vixen” sitting on the throne long enough for them to share the Octagon again soon, her latest comments will certainly provide some nice heat to a potential rematch build-up.
Julianna Pena says she would like to rematch Valentina Shevchenko at some point to get that one back.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña made an appearance on Good Morning America on Monday to promote the new season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Yesterday, the 30th season of The Ultimate Fighter premiered, with Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes serving as the head coaches. The season will help build and hype the highly anticipated…
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña made an appearance on GoodMorning America on Monday to promote the new season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Yesterday, the 30th season of The UltimateFighter premiered, with Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes serving as the head coaches. The season will help build and hype the highly anticipated rematch between Peña and Nunes expected for later this year. Peña defeated Nunes in the co-main event of UFC 269 in what was widely considered to be the upset of the year and one of the biggest upsets in the promotion’s history.
Leading up to the new season, Peña has been very active on a media tour promoting the new season. One of those rounds included an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America.
In the appearance, show hosts T.J. Holmes, Amy Robach, Jennifer Ashton covered the following topics with the new bantamweight queen:
Is the rivalry with Amanda Nunes real?
Going from former show winner to now a coach on the show: Which does she prefer?
Struggles juggling motherhood and fighting
You can view the full Good Morning America segment with Julianna Peña below. And if you haven’t already, you can catch the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighterexclusively on ESPN+.
Will you be tuning into this season of The Ultimate Fighter starring Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes?
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña is ready to adopt a new nickname should she secure a second consecutive victory over Amanda Nunes. At UFC 269 last December, then-double champion Nunes faced the sixth challenge to her 135-pound reign. In what most expected to be an inevitable 13th straight victory for the Brazilian, the “Lioness”…
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña is ready to adopt a new nickname should she secure a second consecutive victory over Amanda Nunes.
At UFC 269 last December, then-double champion Nunes faced the sixth challenge to her 135-pound reign. In what most expected to be an inevitable 13th straight victory for the Brazilian, the “Lioness” ran into prey that fought back ferociously.
Backing up her pre-fight confidence, Peña executed her gameplan to perfection in the second round, forcing Nunes into the kind of adversity-filled waters that she hadn’t swam in since defeat to Cat Zingano in 2014.
Having defeated the consensus female GOAT once, Peña pondered where a second triumph would leave her in the conversation during an appearance on Morning Kombat.
Should she add back-to-back losses to Nunes’ record for the first time in the Brazilian’s career, Peña could be pushing “The Venezuelan Vixen” moniker aside for the “GOAT slayer.”
“Do you think that when you beat the GOAT, you become the GOAT slayer? I kinda like (that)… I think I might be the GOAT slayer,” said Peña.
Despite that, Peña acknowledged that slaying the GOAT doesn’t necessarily add her into the mix when it comes to claiming the greatest of all time throne.
“It’s weird right, so when you’re in jiu-jitsu and you’re a white belt, but you submit a purple belt, you’re like, ‘Give me your purple belt. You’re a purple belt and I just submitted you. I should get that?’ But it doesn’t really work like that. It’s like, you’ve gotta put in the time and then they’ll give you the purple belt over time,” noted Peña.
But while she’s hoping to find even more success inside the Octagon in the coming months and years, achieving GOAT status is not a target for the bantamweight queen.
Peña: I Wouldn’t Want The Pressure Of GOAT Status
Although she wouldn’t argue against her addition to the GOAT conversation, “The Venezuelan Vixen” wouldn’t enjoy the pressure of such a monumental status. The champ also noted that the term is being brought up more and more these days, lessening its value.
“So, I beat Amanda, and I’m going to beat Amanda again, and if they wanna put me in GOAT conversation, that’s fine,” said Peña. “But guess what? That’s not a cap that I want to wear. That’s not a hat that I feel like suits me, because it puts so much added pressure that I don’t want.
“Just call me Julianna Peña instead, or call me ‘The Venezuelan Vixen.’ Just know me as one of the best female fighters in the world. That, to me, has more weight than people throwing around ‘GOAT,’ because I think people throw it around too loosely these days,” concluded Peña.
