UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña isn’t giving up in her pursuit of a third showdown with former two-division queen Amanda Nunes.
Prior to her return to action at the UFC 307 pay-per-view earlier this month, Peña vowed to call out Nunes — who retired following a successful defense against Irene Aldana last year — after recapturing the 135-pound title.
And to the frustration of those hoping for her to instead set her sights on Kayla Harrison, the newly crowned champ made good on her promise, snubbing the two-time Olympic gold medalist and again attempting to draw the “Lioness” back.
The pair have already collided twice, with Peña pulling off an almighty upset first time around at UFC 269 but losing in dominant fashion when they ran it back in the main event of UFC 277.
The rematch went the distance but included Nunes recording multiple knockdowns en route to a one-sided decision, which saw 50-44, 50-45, and 50-46 scorecards in the Brazilian’s favor.
But during an appearance on Sirius XM‘s MMA Today show, Peña suggested those numbers don’t reflect what actually happened at Dallas’ American Airlines Center, and that she actually took Nunes’ “soul.”
Nobody can breathe Amanda Nunes’ name except for me,” Peña said. “I’m the only person that’s going to say, ‘I want you, I know that you retired too early. The first fight, I took your pride in the first fight. The second fight, I took your soul. Make it into the Octagon for this trilogy fight,’ and she can’t do it!
So she says to the promotion, ‘Dana White, I’m shaking my ass and I’m tagging you because I miss you and call me, mwah, mwah, mwah.’ And then they call her and what does she say? ‘Oh, I just want to see what happens between Kayla and Julianna and I’ll take the winner,'” Peña continued. “You are not retired! You are biding your time, Amanda Nunes!
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When Nunes released a video teasing a comeback on social media post-UFC 307, it initially appeared as if “The Venezuelan Vixen’s” callout had been heard.
But with the champ claiming that the Brazilian is looking to face the winner of her likely showdown with Harrison in 2025, fans of the “Lioness” will seemingly have some time to wait before possibility seeing the legend back in action.
