The UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Julianna Peña has recently defended the validity of her victory over former champ Amanda Nunes at UFC 269. Despite many people being quick to give ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ props after her win over the consensus UFC female GOAT. Some people within the MMA community began to speculate whether the ‘Lioness’ […]
Despite many people being quick to give ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ props after her win over the consensus UFC female GOAT. Some people within the MMA community began to speculate whether the ‘Lioness’ was fully prepared for the bout.
Julianna Peña doesn’t think Amanda Nunes underestimated her
Many fans believe that Nunes ‘quit’ during their fight after underestimating the ability and the power of Pena.
The new Queen of the Bantamweight division was fast to make her stamp on the conversation and deny the narrative that the best performance of her career came about because of Nunes was getting too big for her boots.
‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ believes the former champ was quite simply exposed at UFC 269.
“I think Amanda was prepared for the best version of Julianna that she was gonna see. She was ready,” Peña told the New York Post. “I said six months prior to the fight exactly what I was gonna do. I exposed her and I even gave her the message prior to the fight that that’s what I was gonna do. She didn’t underestimate me at all. She trained her ass off and was adamant, in her mind, to win the fight no matter what. She just got exposed, and that’s kind of what it was.”
The discussion will inevitably cotinue and fans will continue to debate if on Peña dragged Nunes into a dog fight or if the former dual-weight champ simply overlooked her latest opponent.
Nonetheless, there is no debate that Peña, did not just roll over and let the occasion and her high-profile opponent get the best of her. She stood up to the challenge and is now reaping the rewards.
Who do you think will be the Bantamweight Queen at the end of 2022?
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña believes she exposed Amanda Nunes in the UFC 269 co-main event last month.
Delusion, no chance, underdog, zero hope, inevitable loss. What do those words and terms have in common? They’re all along th…
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña believes she exposed Amanda Nunes in the UFC 269 co-main event last month.
Delusion, no chance, underdog, zero hope, inevitable loss. What do those words and terms have in common? They’re all along the lines of how most in the MMA community described Peña’s pre-fight confidence and chances of victory on December 11.
That didn’t affect the challenger. She knew something most didn’t. Her self-belief and predictions weren’t an attempt at motivating herself for an uphill battle. They were the truth. In her mind, the performance she delivered at UFC 269 wasn’t shocking; it wasn’t the greatest upset in UFC history,;it wasn’t an underdog triumph; it was as expected.
Despite that, for most fans and pundits, Peña’s seasonal submission success against the “Lioness”, which ended Nunes’ dominant reign over the 135-pound weight class, lengthy win streak, and seven-year unbeaten run, will go down in the history books as one of the biggest shocks the Octagon has ever played host to.
Peña Doesn’t Think Nunes Underestimated Her
For many, whether fans of Nunes or adamant believers in the reigning featherweight titleholder’s superiority, the nature of the loss is up in the air. As well as claims the Brazilian quit after being taken to waters she hadn’t swum in since 2014, some have suggested the former bantamweight queen simply underestimated “The Venezuelan Vixen.”
For the new champ, the answers to that are: wrong and wrong.
In reality, she believes the consensus female GOAT was simply exposed inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
“I think Amanda was prepared for the best version of Julianna that she was gonna see. She was ready,” Peña told the New York Post. “I said six months prior to the fight exactly what I was gonna do. I exposed her and I even gave her the message prior to the fight that that’s what I was gonna do. She didn’t underestimate me at all. She trained her ass off and was adamant, in her mind, to win the fight no matter what. She just got exposed, and that’s kind of what it was.”
While the discussion around her championship-winning performance is likely to continue given the way she toppled the “Lioness” of the top step, Peña will seemingly have the chance to further legitimize her place on the bantamweight throne in an immediate rematch later this year.
Women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena already has a few names she has been throwing around for her upcoming title defense. Ronda Rousey is now on that short list, as she would love to bring the former UFC champion out of retirement for a grudge match. Rousey has not fought inside the UFC since her comeback […]
Women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena already has a few names she has been throwing around for her upcoming title defense.
Ronda Rousey is now on that short list, as she would love to bring the former UFC champion out of retirement for a grudge match. Rousey has not fought inside the UFC since her comeback fight against former champion Amanda Nunes. Nunes made quick work of Rousey in her comeback, as she TKO’d her in the first round.
Pena and Rousey’s rivalry dates back to Pena’s time on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. She was on the 18th season of the ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. Pena was on team Miesha Tate, who was the opposing coach to Rousey. Pena and Tate were close on the show, making Rousey dislike Pena as well, since she also didn’t like Tate.
Julianna Pena had a lot to say about Ronda Rousey in an interview with the NY Post.
“She really had a tough time getting along with me on The Ultimate Fighter. She didn’t like me at all because I was friends with Miesha Tate. She wasn’t the nicest. It would be amazing to pull Ronda Rousey back out of retirement,” Peña said. “It would be great to have her come back to UFC and fight again.”
Rousey has been out of the UFC since 2016 and lost her last two fights to Nunes and Holly Holm. She was a pioneer for women’s MMA and was the most dominant women’s fighter for many years. She started her professional MMA career 12-0, with 11 first round finishes.
Pena on the other hand just defeated Nunes in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. Mostly everyone had Nunes beating Pena and many analysts and fans alike believe that Nunes is the greatest women’s fighter of all time. Pena is eyeing up a few fighters for her first title defense, but a rematch against Nunes is most likely what makes the most sense. Rousey coming out of retirement is a stretch, as she has recently had a baby with her husband and former UFC fighter Travis Browne.
Would you like to see Rousey and Pena face-off in a match?
Julianna Peña is already sorting out opponents for her championship reign.
It has been just one month since Julianna Peña became UFC bantamweight champion, but she is already making a list of possible opponents. The top name on her dream list is a …
Julianna Peña is already sorting out opponents for her championship reign.
It has been just one month since Julianna Peña became UFC bantamweight champion, but she is already making a list of possible opponents. The top name on her dream list is a well-known name, but no longer in the UFC. Peña has a desire to lure Ronda Rousey back from retirement to settle an old score between them.
Peña got her start in the UFC as a member of The Ultimate Fighter Season 18. That season was coached by Rousey and Miesha Tate. Peña was a member of Tate’s team and also a friend of hers. Throughout the season, there was a lot of hatred between the coaches and Peña. Being friendly with Tate, Peña took some of that hate from Rousey as well.
“She really had a tough time getting along with me on The Ultimate Fighter,” Peña told The NY Post. “She didn’t like me at all because I was friends with Miesha Tate. She wasn’t the nicest.”
Rousey has a very successful run as the champion of the bantamweight division but hung up her gloves back in 2016. After a short time with the WWE, Rousey is now out of combat sports and raising a family. That doesn’t stop Peña from calling her out though. She would welcome a shot at that former champ if she ever got the itch to return.
“It would be amazing to pull Ronda Rousey back out of retirement,” She said. “It would be great to have her come back to UFC and fight again.”
Peña is just beginning her run as the 135-pound champion and has already done something Rousey could not, beat Amanda Nunes. Peña is not holding out for Rousey at this time but she is still holding a grudge.
“I don’t know that she’ll recall this because she ended up getting taken out by her entire team,” Peña said. “But when we won ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and got out of the house, she told me that, ‘You’re gonna give me a tougher fight than Miesha Tate, but when that day comes I’m still gonna kick your ass….’ I kind of said to her, ‘We’ll see.”
Would you like to see Ronda Rousey return to the UFC and face Julianna Peña?
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña has detailed the alley fight she had with a co-worker that helped shape the confidence she boasts today.
That self-belief was on full display in the build-up to her latest appearance inside the Octago…
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña has detailed the alley fight she had with a co-worker that helped shape the confidence she boasts today.
That self-belief was on full display in the build-up to her latest appearance inside the Octagon. After getting her wish of a meeting in the cage with Amanda Nunes, a wish that confused some given the Brazilian’s utter dominance in the years prior, Peña had her chance to shock the world at UFC 269 last month.
While most doubted her chances, “The Venezuelan Vixen” was sure of her abilities. She made good on her pre-fight prediction in the final pay-per-view co-main event of the year. Executing her game plan to perfection, she tired out the then-double champion on the feet, dragged her to the mat, and submitted her in the second round.
Peña Reveals The Source Of Her Confidence
While fans, fighters, and pundits in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena and in their homes were left blown away by arguably the greatest upset in UFC history, the newly crowned champ wasn’t surprised. Throughout fight week, Peña’s message was simple: I know something everyone else doesn’t.
While some, including Nunes, put that high level of confidence down to delusion, “The Venezuelan Vixen” proved herself right on December 11. Now, over a month beyond her memorable title-winning performance, the 32-year-old has explained where her immense self-belief derives from.
During an interview with the New York Post, the 135-pound queen narrated the story of a wild alley fight she had with a male colleague while she was working as a food expediter at a local eatery called The Onion. Far from her performances nowadays, Peña was left on the wrong side of the result on that occasion.
“I fought a dude in an alley and got my left eye swollen shut for three days. It needed 11 stitches,” she explained.
At The Onion, Peña worked alongside an individual she’d previously encountered while employed as a supervisor at a pizza restaurant in Spokane. As far as friendly co-workers go, the man certainly didn’t fit into that category.
“He was just a nuisance. I constantly had to tell him what to do. I had to cut people from their shifts depending on how busy they were, and the second I could let anybody go, it would be him. I’d be like, ‘Get out of here.’”
Like in many workplaces, banter and back and forth between colleagues was a mainstay at The Onion. That was the case with Peña despite the fact she was still in training. But when her troublesome co-worker boasted of a fighting superiority, Peña, who was evidently gritty and tough from a young age, wasn’t about to back down.
“The management staff would always egg him on, being like, ‘Don’t mess with her. She’ll kick your ass,’ instead of telling him to knock it off or you’ll get fired,” Peña said.
“I had just started training at that point. We would banter back and forth. He would literally be like, ‘I would lay you out and I won’t even feel bad about it.’ I’d respond, ‘Bring it the fuck on.’
“We went out back and he knocked me down three times,” she recalled. “He punched me right in the eye. I dropped. I say this because I remember it like it was yesterday. I popped right back up. I swear to God I popped right back up. I went to attack again. Boom! He dropped me right again. Same spot in the eye. I popped right back up again and went to attack him. Boom! Right in the eye, and I dropped, and was like, ‘Fuck you!’ and I walked away.”
Despite taking a beating on that day, Peña says her perseverance and her ability to continue bouncing right back to her feet shaped the confidence she carries with her today; the confidence that has helped mold her into a UFC champion.
“Being able to pop back up like I did, and fight through that adversity, knowing that guy wasn’t gonna put me down, to me gave me confidence,” she said. “And, on top of that, getting the shit kicked out of me from my brothers and sisters my whole life.”
So while she has her family, coaches, and team to thank for her ongoing success in the sport of MMA, Peña also appears to have a trouble-making former colleague to show gratitude to for aiding her journey to the top.
How do you think the colleague would fare now inside the Octagon with UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña?
Ahead of the event, it looked like business as usual for Nunes. But inside the Octagon, things were far from normal for the “Lioness.”
Peña, who entered the clash with a noticeable air of confidence and self-belief, repeatedly told people what was going to happen. While most didn’t listen, a select few did. Nevertheless, when she choked out Nunes in the second round, becoming the first woman to defeat the Brazilian since 2014, the MMA world was treated to one of if not the biggest upsets in the sport’s history.
Peña: Nunes Had 2 Fights To Prepare For
Peña undoubtedly prepared endlessly for her clash with the former double champ and had her sights set on Nunes throughout her fight camp. But she believes the same can’t be said the other way around.
While “The Venezuelan Vixen” was able to put all of her energy into gameplay and strategy, the champ believes the Brazilian had two fights to prepare for, one being her weight cut.
Nunes has held the featherweight title since her own incredible upset victory over Cris Cyborg in 2018. Prior to UFC 269, she had defended the 145-pound belt in back-to-back contests against Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson. Having not made the cut to 135 pounds since 2019, Peña believes Nunes may have struggled.
During an interview with Fox Sports, the bantamweight titleholder was asked whether she was surprised to see her opponent tire so quickly in their co-main event fight. Given that Nunes had to overcome her first battle, a grueling weight cut, Peña wasn’t shocked to witness the “Lioness” gas out so quickly, an advantage the champ says she took full advantage of as a natural bantamweight.
“I think that she had two fights her entire camp leading up to this fight. Her first fight was gonna be her weight cut and trying to get her body back down to fighting at bantamweight. And her second fight was gonna be (against) me. Whereas, I only had one fight the entire time and that was me focusing on just Amanda, not having to make weight, not having to make such a drastic weight cut. (It was) something that I never had to take into consideration during my camp. I am a natural 135lber.
“I knew that she was going to be struggling to make that weight, and that was gonna be the first battle she’d have to overcome. With that being said, she was gassed after the first, and I could hear that. I could feel it. I could just hear that heavy breathing in my ear. I knew that was, like I’ve been saying the whole time, the key to success there—just to wear her out, get her tired.”