Are Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes likely to coach on the Ultimate Fighter?
Ariel Helwani recently reported that Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena are the front-runners to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Earlier, there were rumors of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington stepping into coaching roles for TUF. However, the two are now scheduled to face off at UFC 272 in a five-round, non-title main event.
On December 11, 2021, Pena shocked the world by pulling off a huge upset victory against Nunes at UFC 269. Coming into the bout, Nunes was on a 12-fight win streak and had not lost since September 2014.
The Brazilian looked like her usual self in the first round of the fight. However, the tides turned in the second round when 'The Venezuelan Vixen' started touching Nunes up with her jab. Pena ultimately finished the 33-year-old via a rear-naked choke in the second round.
UFC president Dana White was also impressed by Pena's performance. While announcing the winners of the 2021 President's Choice Awards, White chose Pena's victory at UFC 269 as the 'Best Performance of the Year':
"It would have to be Julianna Pena. Not only with performance but one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. You know, I met her a long time ago. She told me she was gonna do this when I met her and she did it."
Watch Dana White announce the 2021 President's Choice Awards below:
Julianna Pena believes it would be cowardly of Amanda Nunes if the Brazilian retires before fighting her again
Julianna Pena recently made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. During her time there, she spoke about her iconic performance against Nunes at UFC 269. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' opined that if Nunes retired before fighting her in a rematch, she would look like a coward:
“Well, somebody suggested, ‘Well, what if [Nunes] doesn’t decide to take the fight with you, and decides to take an easier fight at ’45 [featherweight] and retires off into the sunset.’ Like, she can’t. She can’t do that. She would look like the biggest coward on earth.”
Watch Pena talk about Nunes on The Joe Rogan Experience below: