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Dana White: Peña/Nunes 2 Will Be The Biggest Women’s Fight Of All Time

UFC President Dana White believes the likely rematch between newly-crowned UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes will be the “biggest women’s fight of all time.”

The first fight certainly staked its claim for an achieveme…

UFC President Dana White believes the likely rematch between newly-crowned UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes will be the “biggest women’s fight of all time.”

The first fight certainly staked its claim for an achievement of its own, being one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Heading into the clash, Nunes was the dominant two-division champion who hadn’t lost since 2014, was on a 12-fight win streak, and had defended the 135-pound strap five times, a reign that included victories over Ronda Rousey and Valentina Shevchenko.

But none of that mattered on fight night. In the UFC 269 co-main event, Peña proved her doubters wrong and shocked the world inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. After making it through the opening round, “The Venezuelan Vixen” turned the heat up in the second, trading with the “Lioness” on the feet. After hurting Nunes, Peña forced her to the ground and submitted her, completing a memorable underdog triumph.

PENA UPSETS NUNES ?#UFC269

(via @UFC)pic.twitter.com/juxX9c13dR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 12, 2021

White Has Big Aspirations For The Rematch

In the aftermath of the incredible result, all three necessary parties seemingly agreed that a rematch is the logical next step. Given her lengthy and dominant reign over the bantamweights until 2021, it seems fair Nunes be given an immediate chance for redemption. After Dana White confirmed the option of a rematch is there if she wants it, the Brazilian accepted via a post on Instagram.

With that in mind, it stands to reason we’ll be seeing Peña and Nunes standing opposite each other in the Octagon again in the first half of 2022. While most will expect the second bout to be much bigger than the first given what we saw, the UFC President believes it will surpass every other women’s fight in the sport’s history.

“The Peña rematch with Nunes will probably be the biggest women’s fight of all time,” White told ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto. “That rematch will be the biggest women’s fight of all time.”

That title, as acknowledged by White, is currently held by the UFC 193 main event between Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey. The contest, another contender for greatest upset of all time, saw “The Preacher’s Daughter” end the unbeatable aura of Rousey with a second-round knockout.

How Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm changed WMMA forever — Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm

With 1.1 million pay-per-view buys, the event sits alongside UFC 207: Rousey vs. Nunes as one of the two best-selling events headlined by female fighters in the UFC. Despite that, White insists Peña vs. Nunes 2 will be bigger in every single way.

“Every way that it can possibly beat it, it will. I don’t think it. I know it. It will crush that fight.”

With what’s at stake for Nunes, Peña’s desire to further legitimize her place on the throne, and the champ’s now-proven ability to sell a fight in the build-up, there’s certainly a chance White’s claim could come true.

Do you think Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Peña 2 will be the biggest fight in the history of women’s MMA?

Continue Reading Dana White: Peña/Nunes 2 Will Be The Biggest Women’s Fight Of All Time at MMA News.

Holly Holm Believes It’s Feasible She Could Face Peña Next

Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm believes it’s “feasible” she could be the first challenger to Julianna Peña’s reign on the 135-pound throne.

Since her last title shot, a brutal knockout loss to former titleholder Amanda Nunes in…

Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm believes it’s “feasible” she could be the first challenger to Julianna Peña’s reign on the 135-pound throne.

Since her last title shot, a brutal knockout loss to former titleholder Amanda Nunes in 2019, Holm has surged back to contention with unanimous decision victories over Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana. However, injuries have stalled the 40-year-old’s pursuit of regaining the belt and joining Rose Namajunas in the two-time champ club.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” was set for an apparent title eliminator against Peña at UFC Vegas 26 in May. After being forced out due to hydronephrosis, Holm found herself sidelined while “The Venezuelan Vixen” was accelerated to the title.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnGD-ZpHmV/

Having had her return fight against Norma Dumont in October also called off, this time due to a knee injury, Holm’s string of bad luck means she was unable to enter the Octagon in 2021 and it’ll have been well over a year since her victory over Aldana when she does make the walk again.

That, understandably, has frustrated Holm to a great degree. Nevertheless, she’s recovering and says she won’t let her injuries and problems “break” her.

“I’m super frustrated,” Holm said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I definitely am on the mend. I hope to be back in there, back training and get back in there. I’m feeling a little better. I had to take care of some things. It’s super frustrating, especially when I see people fighting, especially [Nunes vs. Peña] but all the time.

“Any time I watch the fights, it’s so frustrating cause I want to get in there so badly. I don’t want to embrace not being able to fight but I’ve been very fortunate to have a career where I’ve been pretty active. This last year’s had some stuff that’s been kind of from left field. I’m handling it. I’m going to keep pushing forward. I’m not going to let it break me and I want to be back in there very soon.”

Holm Sees Peña Matchup Being Resurrected

Despite her lengthy layoff, Holm believes there’s a chance she’ll find herself in her sixth UFC championship fight when she makes her comeback. Having previously been scheduled to face Peña, the veteran thinks there’s a chance that matchup will be re-visited soon, this time with the belt on the line.

After Holm’s injury saw Peña secure a title shot, the challenger did the unthinkable. At UFC 269 earlier this month, “The Venezuelan Vixen” brought the fight to Nunes like few had done before her. After hurting the “Lioness” on the feet, Peña dragged the Brazilian to the mat and submitted her in what was undoubtedly one of the greatest upsets of all time.

Holm, who knows a thing or two about upsetting the odds, believes it’s “feasible” she returns to face the champ before Nunes has her chance to regain the gold.

“It’s honestly, that’s a very feasible thing [that Peña could be next],” Holm said. “You never know what’s going to happen. Are they going to say let’s rematch right away? There’s been times a fighter will say ‘I need a little more time before a rematch’ or ‘I need this, I need that.’ So you never know what’s going to happen.”

But before that, Holm will have to ensure she’s 100% ready and fit for a return, and the fact she can’t say she is at the moment is clearly an annoyance for “The Preacher’s Daughter.”

“So yeah it’s super frustrating. I want to be right back in there. I want to be able to say hey, I’m ready to fight whoever, whenever. I’m real close to that. It’s super frustrating for sure.”

Given her age and experience in the sport, it stands to reason Holm’s return will signal her final charge for a second title crowning. With how the current champion got there, anything is certainly possible.

How do you think a fight between champion Julianna Peña and former titleholder Holly Holm would play out?

Continue Reading Holly Holm Believes It’s Feasible She Could Face Peña Next at MMA News.

Julianna Peña Says Bettor Won $2 Million Off Her UFC 269 Victory

Julianna Peña won big at UFC 269, but many people lost big on their bets because of her.

Julianna Peña is now the undisputed bantamweight champion. After winning the belt at UFC 269 with a submission victory over Amanda Nunes, Peña made history. M…

Julianna Peña won big at UFC 269, but many people lost big on their bets because of her.

Julianna Peña is now the undisputed bantamweight champion. After winning the belt at UFC 269 with a submission victory over Amanda Nunes, Peña made history. Many believe that Peña’s win over Nunes was the biggest upset in UFC history.

With big upsets come big betting losses and wins. Peña has some words of wisdom for the people who bet on Nunes to win, especially a person who lost $300,000 according to Yahoo Sports.

“Sorry that that man lost so much money,” Peña said. “He should’ve bet on me. He should’ve took that $20,000 and made $2 million because I heard somebody else made that amount.”

Coming into the bout at UFC 269, people were seriously doubting Peña. Perhaps this is because she was 2-2 in her last four fights. But the new champion has her own theory on why people may have bet against her.

“I think probably the biggest thing is that I haven’t had these types of fights where you hit one punch and knock somebody out unconscious. So I think that my fights have kind of been grinding type of uglier fights that sometimes go the distance, sometimes end my way. Either way, it’s either kill or be killed. And you know that I’m gonna either kill or be killed in there.

“And so I definitely think that they probably just haven’t seen a ton of highlights of me just one-KO punching people and that’s probably why they weren’t really on my side at all.”

Peña might have a rematch with Nunes on her agenda following this win, and she is currently placed as the underdog again for the hypothetical matchup. This is perhaps due to Nunes’ résumé. But after watching how their UFC 269 bout played out, you can bet that Pena will have more backers than she did last time.

Would you bet on Peña winning again in a potential rematch with Amanda Nunes?

Continue Reading Julianna Peña Says Bettor Won $2 Million Off Her UFC 269 Victory at MMA News.

Amanda Nunes Responds To Julianna Pena’s Mom Champ Comments

Amanda Nunes has finally fired back at Julianna Pena who claimed she was the first true mom champion in UFC history after beating ‘The Lioness’ at UFC 269 earlier this month. Pena gave birth to her daughter whereas Nunes did not. The former dual-weight champion allowed her wife, Nina Nunes, to carry their daughter and […]

Amanda Nunes has finally fired back at Julianna Pena who claimed she was the first true mom champion in UFC history after beating ‘The Lioness’ at UFC 269 earlier this month.

Pena gave birth to her daughter whereas Nunes did not. The former dual-weight champion allowed her wife, Nina Nunes, to carry their daughter and this is what Pena thinks separates the two women.

“The UFC absolutely needs to create a new belt for me and it needs to be The Baddest Mom On The Planet,” Pena said. “You know, I’m not trying to take anything away from Amanda, she’s a wonderful mother, but I gave birth to my daughter. I feel like for giving birth I am the first mom champ and that to me is also a little feather in the cap.”

Amanda Nunes Issues Statement Addressing Julianna Pena’s Comments

“I may not have birthed my Daughter. If I wanted to I could have. I chose to watch from the outside,” Nunes wrote on Instagram alongside picture of her and her daughter. “After going through the IVF procedure with Nina. It was truly heartbreaking to see many women break down in the waiting room knowing they would never be able to carry their own and have to take another direction. This does not make these woman any less of a MOM than Nina or I. As a MOM champion as well, I feel this needed to be said. @venezuelanvixen”

Nunes suffered one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when she surrendered her bantamweight belt to Pena on December 11. The Brazilian legend seemed off of her game as she slumped to a second-round submission defeat despite being a -1000 favourite over Pena, whose post-fight comments have added more intrigue to what promises to be an enthralling rematch between the two.

Do you think Amanda Nunes has a right to be angry at Julianna Pena for her mom champ comments?

Teddy Atlas Compares Peña Over Nunes To Two Historic Combat Upsets

Teddy Atlas has compared the recent win by Julianna Peña to some of the biggest upsets in combat sports history.

Peña’s win against Amanda Nunes has shocked the combat sports world. Peña picked up a win last weekend in the UFC 269 co-main event, en…

Teddy Atlas has compared the recent win by Julianna Peña to some of the biggest upsets in combat sports history.

Peña’s win against Amanda Nunes has shocked the combat sports world. Peña picked up a win last weekend in the UFC 269 co-main event, ending a back-and-forth battle in the second round with a rear-naked choke submission.

Many have since questioned where the result stands in the history of upsets in MMA. Is it one of the biggest shocks we have seen in the Octagon thus far?

Atlas, a famous boxing trainer and combat sports pundit, recently weighed in about what fights he could compare Peña’s recent win against Amanda Nunes to. Racking his brain about the fight, he considered a ’90s boxing outcome and a more recent UFC result as two fair comparisons.

“The first comparison that comes to you is Buster Douglas and [Mike] Tyson. When you think of the enormity of the upset, you know,” he said on his podcast The Fight with Teddy Atlas. “But I was surprised [the commentators] didn’t mention one that was pretty damn enormous right in their own sport. And that was [Holly] Holm and [Ronda] Rousey. People forget how dominant Rousey was. I mean, Rousey was a monster. I mean, she was Godzilla and when she got stopped and beaten… she got beat by Holly Holm, who was a former [boxer].” (h/t Sportskeeda)

Comparing Peña vs. Nunes To Upsets Of The Past

Dana White: my — Image Credit: AP/Andy Brownbill

Douglas’ 1990 win over Tyson is legendary and is one of the most notorious upsets in sports history. The fight saw Douglas not only enter as a 42-to-1 underdog but also make a comeback after being knocked down to later stop Tyson in the 10th round.

The comparison of Nunes and Rousey’s upset losses has been made by many recently. The results were both widely regarded as a massive upset, and both fights declared the end of dominant reigns at bantamweight.

It’s certainly up for debate where Peña’s win ranks in the grand scheme of upsets. However, if there’s one thing for sure, it’s that the bantamweight title fight will be discussed by fans for years to come.

Where would you rank Peña’s upset victory over Amanda Nunes in MMA history?

Continue Reading Teddy Atlas Compares Peña Over Nunes To Two Historic Combat Upsets at MMA News.

Nunes Issues Strong Response To Peña’s “Mom Champ” Comments

Former UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has responded to Julianna Pena’s controversial “mom champ” remarks.

Nunes fell to Peña in one of the most shocking UFC moments of 2021, submitting to a rear-naked choke in the second round. Nunes appear…

Former UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has responded to Julianna Pena’s controversial “mom champ” remarks.

Nunes fell to Peña in one of the most shocking UFC moments of 2021, submitting to a rear-naked choke in the second round. Nunes appeared winded early in the fight and arguably didn’t look like her usual dominant self.

After her historic win, Peña claimed that she, not Nunes, is the first “mom champ” in the UFC. Nunes and her wife Nina welcomed their first child in late 2020.

“The UFC absolutely needs to create a new belt for me It needs to be ‘The Baddest Mom on the Planet,’ Peña said during the UFC 269 post-fight press conference. “And you know, I’m not trying to take away anything from Amanda. She’s a wonderful mother. But I gave birth to my daughter, and I know that I feel like, for giving birth, I am the first mom champ. And that, to me, is also a little feather in the cap.”

The MMA community has been divided on Pena’s controversial statements, and Pena has recently come out and claimed that she didn’t mean any ill-will with the comments and acknowledged Nunes is a great mother and a true “mom champ.”

During a recent Instagram post, Nunes addressed the controversy and aimed her statement directly at Peña.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXrHuk1Pcfb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“I may not have birthed my Daughter. If I wanted to I could have,” Nunes said. “I chose to watch from the outside. After going through the IVF procedure with Nina. It was truly heartbreaking to see many women break down in the waiting room knowing they would never be able to carry their own and have to take another direction. This doesn’t not make these women any less of a MOM than Nina or I. As a MOM champion as well, I feel this needed to be said, [Julianna Pena].”

The “Mom Champ” Controversy Could Fuel Nunes/Pena Rematch

Many of Nunes’ fans commented with messages of support on the post. Peña has yet to respond to Nunes’ post as of this writing.

Nunes and Peña are expected to run it back sometime in 2022, with both women publically agreeing to an immediate rematch. Nunes has hinted at taking some time off, and it’s unclear when she’s targeting her return.

The Peña vs. Nunes rivalry appears to just be getting started, and this out-of-competition turmoil could fuel the fire between these two women going forward. Whenever they end up fighting again, it’s almost certain that Peña’s comments will continue to be addressed publically.

What are your thoughts on the Amanda Nunes/Julianna Peña “Mom Champ” controversy?

Continue Reading Nunes Issues Strong Response To Peña’s “Mom Champ” Comments at MMA News.