'I am her kryptonite' - Julianna Pena reveals possible date for Amanda Nunes title fight
UFC bantamweight Julianna Pena thinks she is the worst possible matchup for Amanda Nunes and proposed May 8 as the date to find out once and for all in the UFC octagon.
Julianna Pena spoke with MMA Junkie recently and stressed the fact that she has only one less win than Amanda Nunes under the UFC umbrella if her victories in the TUF Season 18 are taken into account. The "Venezuelan Vixen" believes that there are two reasons to grant her a shot at the title: her record and the stylistic matchup with the reigning champion.
"My UFC record is 9-2. Some people don't want to count those fights on The Ultimate Fighter. But if you think about it... those were sanctioned fights... So I count those on my record. I'm the only woman that didn't get to fight for the UFC belt after winning TUF. I'm 9-2 in the UFC and Amanda has one more than I do. I have been fighting in the UFC just as long as she has and I'm the only one that can say they have a record similar to hers... For me, styles make fights. I feel like stylistically I am the worst possible matchup for her. I am her kryptonite and I do believe she knows that," Julianna Pena said.
Following Amanda Nunes' dominant submission win over Megan Anderson in the featherweight title fight at UFC 259, UFC president Dana White revealed that he and his team received multiple messages from Julianna Pena about getting a shot at the bantamweight title.
"Julianna Pena has been texting all of us all night, she's been busy tonight. Yeah, we could do that (Book a fight between Juliana Pena and Amanda Nunes)," Dana White said.
Julianna Pena (10-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is the No. 6 ranked fighter in the UFC's women's bantamweight division. Pena last fought at UFC 257 and got herself back in the win column with a third-round submission win over No. 8 ranked Sara McMann.
When Julianna Pena called out Amanda Nunes at UFC 257
UFC 257 had extra attention since the event was headlined by Conor McGregor. Julianna Pena put the opportunity to good use and called out champion Amanda Nunes during a post-fight interview after her win over McMann.
"I feel amazing. It played exactly how I thought it was. I just beat the best wrestler in the division... Amanda Nunes, I want to fight you. It's time for her to quit ducking," Julianna Pena said.
Amanda Nunes dismissed the call-out with a tweet and took a jab at Pena for losing the fights that could have given her a title opportunity.
Amanda Nunes does not have many choices for her next opponent after having cleared the entire bantamweight division during her four-year title reign. However, Julianna Pena is a fresh matchup for the champ which could very well tip the matchmaking scales in favor of the fight.