"That's what you said last time" - Julianna Pena shuts down Amanda Nunes' 'one lion in the jungle' claim amid heated exchange at UFC 277 pre-fight presser
Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes are set to face off again inside the octagon this weekend. The bantamweight title will be on the line in their rematch headlining UFC 277. The two competitors have been engaged in a verbal back-and-forth even since the announcement of their highly-anticipated rematch
At the pre-fight press conference ahead of the pay-per-view, Pena was asked about her prediction for her upcoming title defense. The champion responded passionately:
"I'm going to punch, kick, pull her hair, I'm going to bite her, I'm going to gouge her eyeballs out if I have to. I'm literally gonna do everything in there. Trust me when I say I am ready and willing to die, whatever it takes. I am gonna do whatever it takes."
In response, former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes said:
"And I will be there, ready. To be even better than her, you know. She's really going to face a lion she didn't see the last time. There's only one lion in the jungle, that's me."
'The Venezuelan Vixen' hit right back at Nunes:
"That's what you said last time!"
Arguably the two best female fighters in the world, both at the very peak of their game, this fight promises a lot of action. 'The Lioness' and 'The Venezuelan Vixen' are ready to give it their all to determine who will leave the octagon with the bantamweight title.
Amanda Nunes outlines future plans, Pena calls her out
The fight features two champions, Amanda Nunes, who currently holds the featherweight championship, and Julianna Pena, who is the bantamweight champion.
Nunes aims to regain the bantamweight championship and become a double champion once again. The Brazilian stated multiple times that her intention is to hold both belts together, but also revealed she'd like to get back to the featherweight division soon.
'The Lioness' answered a question on whether she will defend her featherweight title next:
"Yes. As fast as possible. I wanna walk away with my 135 belt and then we're gonna look at Dana like, let's go! Let's go up, let's do it."
Interestingly, Pena called out Nunes for her intention to move back to a division where there were hardly any "real fights."
"All the real fights are at 135, she's saying that she's gonna fight at 145 and defend her belt? Against who?! Name three 145ers, name two 145ers. There's nobody in that division, everybody knows that the real fights are at 135 pounds."
UFC 277 won't just be the two fighters' second meeting as the two recently went head-to-head on the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), leading their respective teams with tensions slowly brewing. Come UFC 277, expect it all to boil over inside the octagon.
Check out the complete press conference below: