"It was an accident" - Amanda Nunes responds to claims of peeking at Julianna Pena's training at TUF ahead of UFC 277
Amanda Nunes has responded to accusations made by Julianna Pena. During the UFC 277 pre-fight press conference, 'The Lioness' fielded a myriad of questions before her big title rematch on Saturday.
Per Pena's recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, Nunes and her team were reportedly watching one of Pena's The Ultimate Fighter practices from a van outside her training facility, only to then drive off when they were noticed.
When asked if she was in fact spying on Pena's training, Amanda Nunes said:
"One time I walk in, and I saw her training, yeah? What is the problem in that? One time? Julianna training with her team, come on. I walk in, I saw, okay, and I went to my locker room. It was an accident."
Watch the full UFC 277 pre-fight press conference below:
Her bout against Pena was Nunes' first time competing at 135 lbs in two years. The Brazilian's last two fights saw the G.O.A.T. defend her featherweight world title against Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson at UFC 250 and UFC 259, respectively.
The last time (prior to the first Pena fight) that Nunes fought at 135 pounds was when she made her fifth successful bantamweight world title defense against Germaine De Randamie at UFC 245 in December 2019, which Nunes won by unanimous decision.
Amanda Nunes' combat resume
Amanda Nunes is 21-5 in her mixed martial arts career, but she will be hoping to garner win number 22 and reclaim the bantamweight gold this weekend. The last time Nunes stepped into the octagon, her twelve-fight winning streak was snapped, resulting in her losing her dual-division championship status in the process.
While Nunes still has the gold at 145 pounds, she is likely anxious to re-capture what she lost to Pena at UFC 269. Pena's second-round rear-naked choke victory in December is considered one of the biggest underdog wins in MMA history, and 'The Lioness' will be looking to even up the series come fight night.
Amanda Nunes began her mixed martial arts career in March 2008 and eventually found success in circuits like Strikeforce as well as Invicta FC.
She made her UFC debut in August 2013 and has only lost twice during her octagon tenure: once to Julianna Pena and once to Cat Zingano (third-round TKO at UFC 178 in September 2014).