Coach reveals reason behind Julianna Pena's late weigh-in
In a few hours, Julianna Pena will attempt to defend her women's bantamweight title in a highly-anticipated rematch with Amanda Nunes. Nunes and Pena will lock horns in the headliner of UFC 277 pay-per-view, which is set to take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas this Saturday.
amanda nunes or julianna pena what do you guys think about this rematch? https://t.co/x2B6tJ57lW
A few hours ago, the official weigh-ins for the event took place. In what came as a surprise to many, Pena weighed-in with just two minutes of time to spare. Had she stepped onto the scale a few minutes later, the weigh-in wouldn't have counted as official and could have potentially resulted in a similar situation to the one that Charles Oliveira experienced earlier this year.
Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened as 'The Venezuelan Vixen' weighed-in at 134.5 lbs, making the main event is an official contest for the bantamweight championship. According to a report by ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Pena's coach, Rick Little, has revealed that she was late to the official weigh-ins due to the fact that she was still asleep. Her team expressed their desire for Pena to be well-rested ahead of the fight.
Brett Okamoto tweeted the following in regards to the weigh-in:
"Julianna Peña’s coach Rick Little told me they weighed in with two minutes to spare because the team let Julianna sleep in this morning."
Julianna Peña’s coach Rick Little told me they weighed in with two minutes to spare because the team let Julianna sleep in this morning.
Julianna Pena weighs in on women's MMA G.O.A.T conversation; sees herself as G.O.A.T slayer
Despite forcing Amanda Nunes to tap out at UFC 269, Julianna Pena is still being regarded as the underdog heading into the rematch. She is eager to prove to the world that she is the best bantamweight on the planet right now.
While Pena is aware that Nunes will do everything she can to recapture the title, she believes that she is well prepared to beat 'The Lioness' once again. Although she regards Nunes as the G.O.A.T in women's MMA, 'The Venezuelan Vixen' claimed that she's the G.O.A.T slayer.
During a recent interaction with TMZ Sports, Pena said:
"I don't know anybody else in this division or the sport that has been able to have the resume that Amanda has made, so [her resume] is definitely worthy of being called the greatest of all time. But, now that I'm here, I am also being worthy of being called the G.O.A.T slayer."