"If Julianna Pena can be a bully..." - Laura Sanko believes 'The Venezuelan Vixen' can repeat her success if she causes Amanda Nunes to panic again
Laura Sanko thinks Julianna Pena could once again defeat Amanda Nunes in their upcoming rematch at UFC 277. According to the UFC commentator and analyst, Pena should adopt a similar strategy as she did in their first fight when she picked up a second-round submission win over 'The Lioness'.
If Pena succeeds in establishing pressure early on and takes the fight to Nunes like she did the last time, she is likely to pick up another win over the former two-division champion, believes Sanko.
Nunes has rarely faced adversity inside the octagon. When Pena got in her face and traded punches with her the last time, Sanko thinks it caused the Brazilian to panic. If 'The Venezuelan Vixen' can do it once again and cause Nunes to doubt herself, she will be in a strong position to retain the title.
In a video shared by One On One on their YouTube channel, Sanko said:
"I don't make predictions on this channel for a reason but I'm fascinated to see how both of these women approach the second round because if Julianna Pena can be a bully, if she can get back into the face of Amanda Nunes and it causes that moment of doubt, caused that moment of panic, of 'Man, I haven't been here before, I haven't had to recalibrate before in the middle of a combination,' you know in the middle of a round, in the middle of a flurry, like. 'Oh, what do i do?' If she [Pena] can cause that moment to happen again in this fight, she very well could beat Amanda Nunes again."
Watch the video below:
Confidence will be Julianna Pena's biggest asset in upcoming fight, claims Laura Sanko
Laura Sanko believes confidence will play a major role in the rematch between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena. Nunes will be looking for retribution this weekend when she runs it back with Pena in a battle for the women's bantamweight strap.
#UFC277Here are the odds for Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes 2:
Julianna Peña +220 (11/5)
Amanda Nunes -260 (5/13)
64% of total cash is on Nunes, yet 76% of the bets are on Pena.
(odds via @betonline_ag) 🏆 #UFC277
https://t.co/69nPdnRqv4
'The Lioness' allegedly fought with an injury in the first fight. This time, she is fully fit and raring to go.
Despite losing the first fight, Nunes remains the favorite to win the rematch. However, the confidence that Pena has from beating the Brazilian the last time could give her the edge, believes Sanko.
Julianna Peña thinks her “girl balls” are bigger than Amanda Nunes https://t.co/QLgZZvlBtH
Sanko claimed that most fighters accept defeat even before stepping inside the octagon against legendary fighters like Nunes because they exude an aura of invincibility.
Pena, however, has already overcome all those mental hurdles and forced Nunes to quit inside the octagon in their previous fight.
"You want to talk about confidence coming into a fight, being able to replay that GoPro footage in your mind, that view that she had of being on Amanda's back, not having hooks in, getting her to tap, watching her punches affect her, you don't get a bigger asset coming into a fight than that."