"It took Alexander Volkanovski three fights with Holloway" - UFC President Dana White explains why Julianna Pena needs another victory over Amanda Nunes to solidify her position as the champion
![Julianna Pena (L), Dana White (M), and Amanda Nunes (R) [Image Courtesy: Chris Unger]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/07/09f57-16590345767768-1920.jpg?w=500)
Julianna Pena is aiming to go 2-0 over Amanda Nunes at UFC 277, and should she do so, Dana White thinks this will underscore that the first fight was no fluke.
Speaking with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, White covered several subjects such as the upcoming Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev clash, the retirement of the WWE's Vince McMahon, and much more.
While assessing the implications of a rematch between the current women's bantamweight champion and Amanda Nunes, White said:
"Common sense says to you, they're going to get into a fire fight here and Julianna is going to get clipped eventually, right? But no, that was one of those moments of the fight. Where you looked around the arena and the whole arena, you could have heard a pin drop. Everybody just staring at each other like 'Holy s***.' That's what makes Saturday so exciting."
"If Julianna can beat her again, it'll get rid of all the doubters and the naysayers. Everybody saying, 'Ah, whatever,' and then Julianna is on her way to start her own legacy. I mean it took Alexander Volkanovski three fights with Holloway for people to finally say 'OK, OK, Alex won the fight."
Watch the full interview/ video below:
Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes' road to UFC 277
Julianna Pena made a big splash when she first popped up on the UFC circuit, as she earned the title of The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 champion. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' went from competing on the show to coaching it almost a decade later — she and Amanda Nunes have coached against one another on TUF 30 ahead of their rematch.
Nunes successfully defended her UFC bantamweight world title five times after beating Miesha Tate at UFC 200 and is still currently the reigning UFC featherweight world champion. She previously defended her 135 pound strap against Germaine de Randamie, Holly Holm, Raquel Pennington, Valentina Shevchenko, and Ronda Rousey before dropping it to Julianna Pena.
'The Lioness' lost the gold via a second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 269, which is seen by many as one of, if not the very biggest, upsets in the history of mixed marital arts.