Tag: UFC 269

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña has rejected rival Amanda Nunes’ claim that a knee injury played a part in the result of their UFC 269 fight.

At the final pay-per-view of 2021, Peña unseated Nunes from the 135-pound throne, which she’d occupied since a 2016 victory over Miesha Tate and maintained through the challenges of Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm, and Germaine de Randamie.

While most had expected the “Lioness” to add Peña’s name to her lengthy list of fallen challengers, “The Venezuelan Vixen” had other plans, and ones that led to a second-round submission triumph in Las Vegas last December.

The result, which is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, led to much discussion about its cause. While some gave the new champ the credit she deserved for the performance, others suggested that her crowning was more down to Nunes’ shortcomings.

And while she initially appeared gracious in defeat, Nunes later attempted to support the latter claim, revealing that she’d entered her sixth bantamweight defense underprepared and carrying a knee injury.

But Peña, who knows a thing or two about knee issues having suffered damage to her ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus throughout her career, isn’t buying it.

During an interview with KREM, a publication based out of her hometown, Spokane native Peña noted that she never put any of her defeats down to her knee troubles. Nevertheless, she acknowledged Nunes’ need to motivate herself, which Peña believes the Brazilian is choosing to do by downplaying the legitimacy of their first result.

“I’ve had two knee surgeries, one on each knee. And I’ve never used me getting choked unconscious (on saying), like, ‘Oh, it was because of my knees,’ you know what I mean?” Peña said with a laugh. “So you gotta say whatever you can to motivate yourself, and to pump yourself up, and to sleep at night so that you can say, ‘Yes, it was my knees, and next time I’m gonna get it done.’

“So you gotta say whatever you gotta say, and I understand that,” added Peña.

Following the culmination of this year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter, Peña and Nunes are set to run it back. When the pair collide in the UFC 277 headliner in Dallas, “The Venezuelan Vixen” will look to deliver another blow to her detractors, many of whom still regard her crowning as a fluke.

On the other side, Nunes will be looking to reclaim the title and her status as champ-champ. Despite her defeat last time out, the “Lioness” is currently the favorite just over a month out from the rematch.

We’ll find out whether Peña is being wrongly counted out again on July 30.

What do you make of Julianna Peña’s take on Amanda Nunes’ post-fight injury claims?

Continue Reading Peña: I’ve Never Used Injuries As Excuses Like Nunes Did Post-UFC 269 at MMA News.

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has revealed what moment allowed Julianna Peña to take over in the UFC 269 co-main event.

2022 is representing a fresh challenge for Nunes. For the first time since 2015, she’s entered the new year off the back of a defeat. While she was coming off a loss to then-fellow contender Cat Zingano seven years ago, this time around she’s looking to rebound after having one of two belts she held last year snatched from her grasp.

After extending her two-division rule with a dominant first-round submission over Megan Anderson last March, Nunes was tasked with returning to 135 pounds to defend her bantamweight strap for the first time since 2019. In her way of completing another year with champ-champ status and extending her win streak to 13 was Peña.

While most expected “The Venzuelan Vixen” to represent a small hurdle for the “Lioness,” she turned out to be a 10-foot wall that stood firm in the face of the consensus female GOAT.

After surviving the opening round, Peña turned the intensity up in the second. When she appeared to tire and hurt Nunes on the feet, the UFC’s first female TUF winner dragged the Brazilian to the ground and submitted her.

Nunes: Peña Was The First Opponent To Catch Me On The Feet

Two months removed since the memorable upset, which many have branded the most shocking in UFC history, Nunes has provided some context behind her performance.

While many branded her loss as a display of quit, the reigning featherweight queen has suggested she was carrying a number of injuries into the contest that were serious enough for a doctor to recommend her withdrawal. With those issues contributing to what she described as a “mess” of a camp, Nunes believes she simply wasn’t prepared enough.

But despite citing those struggles as reasons behind her setback, Nunes also gave credit to the newly crowned bantamweight titleholder. During a media scrum earlier this month, the 33-year-old pinpointed one punch early in round two as the turning point in the contest.

“I got caught in the beginning of the second round. I don’t know if it was a jump-in, overhand, I don’t know what the move was. But for me, it looked like a jump overhand. It got me right here [points to behind left ear],” said Nunes. “It’s like, that was the end. I was not able to recover after that. I told Nina (Nunes) like, I felt dizzy, because I never got caught before. If you’re asking me how getting caught feels, I never would’ve answered because I never got caught before. So when I got caught, I lost everything; I lost my balance, my visual was a little bit blurry, too, and from that moment, everything went downhill.

“When I got on the floor, I was already done,” Nunes continued. “From watching the fight, and how everything was played in my head after I got caught, yeah. Everybody say I was tired and everything, okay, (they) look at me and say, ‘Your timing was off;” yeah, I didn’t train well for the fight. Of course, you think I showed up 100%? But I did get caught. She really connected a good one and I wasn’t able to recover.”

Having apparently become the first woman to really catch Nunes and badly wobble her in the striking realm, Peña will look to repeat the feat when she puts her gold on the line in a rematch against the Brazilian later this year.

Before that, though, the pair are set to exchange words and interact on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, where the two rivals will serve as coaches.

Who do you think will win the rematch, Amanda Nunes or Julianna Peña?

Continue Reading Amanda Nunes Reveals What Moment Changed The Fight At UFC 269 at MMA News.

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña has reacted to Amanda Nunes’ claim that she was injured and shouldn’t have fought at UFC 269.

At the final pay-per-view of 2021, Peña proved herself right and a whole lot of people across the MMA community wrong. Not only did she surprise fans and pundits with her pre-fight confidence, which came despite what many perceived to be an insurmountable task, but she provided one of the most shocking moments in the promotion’s history on fight night.

In the second round of the co-main event, “The Venezuelan Vixen” forced Nunes, the then-double champ who was unbeaten since 2014, to tap. According to the newly-crowned 135-pound queen, the “Lioness” was exposed on December 11.

Now three months gone from the memorable result, the former bantamweight titleholder has attempted to provide some context behind her disappointing, lackluster, and defeated performance at UFC 269.

According to the Brazilian, her pre-fight camp was a “mess,” not only due to the initial summer delay after she contracted COVID-19 but because of injuries she carried during preparation and into the event itself.

Peña: If You’re Injured, Don’t Fight

During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto, Peña responded to Nunes’ claims and take on her first setback in 13 outings.

Having experienced two serious knee injuries herself across her career, the champ admitted she has sympathy for her rival and understands what she’s been going through.

But while she sees it as a “legitimate excuse,” Peña reminded Nunes that nobody was forcing her to compete. “The Venezuelan Vixen” said that if the consensus female GOAT’s injury was bad enough to have a doctor encourage her to withdraw, she simply should have delayed the fight.

“It’s a tough situation for me to hear that because I’ve torn both my knees out. I have come back from two devastating knee injuries,” said Peña. “So, in one regard, I hear you, girl. I feel ya. I 100% know exactly what you are feeling like, you know. I have had that time off to reconstruct my knees, and to build them back, and to still be competing at the highest level that there is.

“So, my knees are not an excuse to say I shouldn’t have shown up to the fight. If your knees are bad, don’t fight,” added Peña. “Nobody’s forcing a gun up to your head. Nobody’s making you do this. So, if you want to say that it was because you were injured, don’t take the fight, that’s fine. I’m sure we can find somebody else more than willing to step into that spot instead. I agree, fighters don’t like excuses, but then I also agree that that is a legitimate excuse. But then I also say, then fix it and let’s figure out how we can keep this party rolling,” Peña concluded.

From the latest injury claim and discussion about the UFC 269 contest to controversial motherhood statements, the back and forth between Nunes and Peña has certainly not slowed since their December clash.

Now, with the pair set to coach this year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter ahead of their rematch, it stands to reason we’re set for many more exchanges in the coming months.

Do you think Julianna Peña will upset the odds again when she shares the Octagon with Amanda Nunes for the second time later this year?

Continue Reading Peña On Nunes’ UFC 269 Injury Claim: No One Had A Gun To Your Head at MMA News.

UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes says she was “lying” to herself by believing she could compete at UFC 269.

After extending her win streak to 12, her two-division rule, and her seven-year unbeaten run at UFC 259 last March with a dominant submission win against Megan Anderson, Nunes returned to bantamweight to defend her 135-pound gold against Julianna Peña.

While many saw the challenger as a gift-wrapped delivery for the Brazilian’s first outing in the weight class since 2019, Peña switched the ‘And Still’ bunting to ‘And New’ in December.

After their initially scheduled UFC 265 clash was pushed back after the then-champ returned a positive COVID-19 test, the pair finally collided at the last pay-per-view of the year.

Providing one of the most memorable moments of the year, and across the promotion’s entire history, “The Venezuelan Vixen” submitted Nunes in the second round to be crowned the new queen of the bantamweights.

During a recent media scrum, Nunes, who still owns the featherweight gold, looked back on her crushing defeat inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Having branded her camp as a “mess” due to the negative effect the UFC 265 cancelation had on her training, as well as numerous injuries she claims to have carried into the event, Nunes suggested the smart thing to do would have been to delay the matchup for the second time.

According to the Brazilian, she was lying to herself by attempting to fight through her issues and by believing she could compete at 100% of her abilities at UFC 269.

“I thought it wouldn’t look good if I let that fight fall through one more time. So I put what I was (dealing with) aside, but I didn’t have a very good camp, that was the honest thing,” said Nunes. “I tried putting into my head that I was ready, I was 100%, but I was lying to myself. That is exactly what I was (doing). But as a fighter, as a warrior, I wanna fight. I want to do that. I’m gonna fight whatever, even if I have an injury. But at this level, you cannot do those stupid moves. So, I paid for it.

“I was supposed to let the fight fall through, get 100% again, and fight Julianna,” Nunes continued. “And I know Julianna is a very tough opponent. I know that (defeat) could have a chance at happening cause my timing was very off. I wasn’t even able to do sparring in my camp.”

Nunes Reveals Doctor Advised Her Not To Fight At UFC 269

To put into context how serious her troubles and physical issues were prior to UFC 269, Nunes revealed her doctor had advised her to pull out of the UFC’s year-ending PPV.

The “Lioness” described her decision to ignore that advice as a “dumb” move, and one she certainly paid for at the hands of Peña.

“Unfortunately, sometimes we do dumb things, and especially at the level I’m at, we’re not supposed to do those things,” said Nunes. “Sometimes I say, ‘Man, I really should’ve listened to my doctor.’ He told me, ‘Let me handle it with the UFC, I’ll tell them exactly what you’re going through right now, and you have to have time to rest and recover. If you don’t you’re not gonna perform as well.’ I was like, fighting with my doctor. I said, ‘You’re not gonna do that, you don’t have my permission to do that. I’m gonna fight.’

“So, I went back to his offices (after UFC 269) and he looked at me like, ‘I told you,’” added Nunes. “So now, after watching the fight as well, I had a hard time for a little bit watching the fight because I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what happened.’ Like, I kept lying to myself after the fight.”

After losing the bantamweight title in 2021, Nunes will be hoping to reclaim her spot on the throne this year when she meets Peña for the second time. The pair are set to run it back following a stint coaching this year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter.

Are you excited for the new season of TUF and Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes 2?

Continue Reading Amanda Nunes: I Was Lying To Myself Pre-UFC 269 at MMA News.