Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes are already going at it, even if their exchange doesn’t ever spill into the Octagon.
Julianna Pena pulled out an impressive, grind-em-out victory over UFC veteran Sara McMann at UFC 257. Never the shy or reserved type, Pena let her words fly on the microphone in her post-fight interview. Some of the words that took many by surprise was her claim that reigning double champion Amanda Nunes is ducking her. Obviously, Nunes was among the surprised population, and she took to Twitter to scoff at Pena’s claim.
“Ducking? You couldn’t even make yourself a contender for me. @VenezuelanVixen #UFC257,” Nunes posted.
Julianna Pena Makes Case For Title Shot
Amanda Nunes was sure to tag Pena to ensure that her message was received. And it was received, all right, as Pena responded to Nunes immediately after her fight.
“When she fought Miesha Tate at UFC 200, I had just beat Cat Zingano, and Cat Zingano had just stopped Amanda Nunes,” Pena began in her post-fight scrum soliloquy on why she deserves a title shot. “So Amanda said she would fight me, and then she went and fought Ronda Rousey. And then, of course, I was gonna wait and bench myself, and then I got strongholded into fighting Valentina.”
Julianna Pena has had a couple of setbacks in her quest to challenge for the world title, particularly in her losses to Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie. Pena believes those losses were more a case of her beating herself and should have no strong bearing on her current contender status.
“So anyways, I’m putting these girls into positions they don’t want to be in, and I’m the one that’s making the mistakes,” Pena said. “She says that I’m not a contender, Amanda Nunes? Oh, so a girl with a .500 record with three wins and two losses in the UFC (Megan Anderson) is more of a contender than I am? I don’t get it.”
Title Shot Or Bust
Julianna Pena would not stop at suggesting a fight between herself and Nunes, the Venezuelan Vixen claims it is the only fight that interests her at the moment. And for good measure, she would also double-down on her claim that Nunes is ducking her.
“She told me that she would fight me, and now she’s saying that I’m not a contender. And that, to me, just sounds like she doesn’t want to fight me,” Pena said. “I’m going to have to talk to the bosses and see what they have to say, but for the most part, Amanda’s the only fight that makes sense for me.”
Do you think Julianna Pena makes a good case for a title shot against Amanda Nunes?
