UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes believes she will capitalize on mistakes from Julianna Pena.
In the co-main event of UFC 269 this Saturday night (Dec. 11), Nunes will put her 135-pound gold up for grabs against Pena. Going into this fight, there has been some trash talk hurled by the challenger. Some experts have expressed their belief that Pena has a good shot at pulling off the upset win.
Facing Nunes is a tall task. “The Lioness” has become the most dominant female fighter in MMA. She is riding a 12-fight winning streak and is the only female fighter in the UFC to hold two titles simultaneously.
Amanda Nunes Not Bothered By Trash Talk
Appearing on ESPN’s DC & RC Show, Amanda Nunes explained why the verbal jabs from Pena don’t motivate her more.
“Honestly, every time we step in the cage we really think about finishing somebody no matter what if they talk or if they’ve been quiet. With Julianna, it’s not different. Every time that I step in the cage I wanna really really prove a point. I’m the better fighter here, I’m the best. So, with Julianna I think it’s gonna be the same. I feel like any moment in this fight I can finish her. So, I feel like she’s gonna give me all the moments that I want to knock her out or finish her.”
History Repeats Itself?
Julianna Pena has been known for making mistakes in her bouts with Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie. Those errors led to Pena being submitted in both fights.
During an interview with TMZ Sports, Nunes said she anticipates Pena to make more mistakes in their title matchup.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t take her seriously. I do. Actually, I trained very hard and very smart and very sharp for her but a lot of things she says is not true. She’s being delusional. She never was a contender ever in her life, her fault. She lost to many of the opponents I beat already so she’s not all that. She’s a good fighter, yes but a lot of things she’s been lying about it. Honestly, I don’t see this fight going to the judges at all. I feel I’m very sharp. I know she’s gonna make a lot of mistakes like she always does.”
Nunes will be going for her sixth successful UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title defense. As for Pena, this is her first shot at UFC gold.
UFC 269 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. Middle Easy will have you covered this weekend so be sure to peep the homepage for results.
