"That's where you have to get tactical" - Chael Sonnen explains why Amanda Nunes must not waste energy throwing fight-ending shots against Julianna Pena
Chael Sonnen recently assessed the upcoming title fight between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena. He opined that the Brazilian should rein in her love for throwing potential fight-ending shots.
Despite comfortably winning the first round of their clash back at UFC 269, 'The Lioness' became visibly fatigued early in the second and eventually succumbed to the pressure of her opponent. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' shocked the world by outstriking the exhausted champion and subsequently sinking in the submission.
During a recent video on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen urged Amanda Nunes to avoid trying to constantly hit her big shots, as Julianna Pena is known for having an incredible ability to take damage and keep coming forward.
"If you don't hit a knee. If you don't stop fighting, what within the rules allows you to assess and/or determine damage, if it's one apiece, or two apiece, or five apiece... What's the point, if you're Amanda, of hitting Julianna as hard as you can, as often as you can?... To hit them as hard as you can as often as you can in the middle of a cage fight would make a lot of sense, but if you take a little bit closer look at the rules, why, if she doesn't go down? Now I'm just more tired... That's where you have to get tactical, that's where you have to get real smart."
Sonnen believes that exerting too much energy trying to make short work of Pena could possibly spell bad news for the former 135lb champion, and could cost her the fight once again.
Check out what 'The American Gangster' had to say about the upcoming UFC 277 headliner in the video below:
Is Amanda Nunes the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time?
After losing to Cat Zingano back in 2014, Amanda Nunes went on a tear through her competition and skyrocketed herself into greatest of all time contention, but what are her achievements in the sport?
At 14-2 inside the octagon, the 34-year-old arguably has the best resume in the history of women's MMA. Throughout her nine-year UFC career, she has collected first-round finishes of Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, and Miesha Tate, among others, and has two separate decision wins over Valentina Shevchenko.
Alongside the stars she was able to overcome inside the cage, Amanda Nunes has several other accolades. She is the first and only women's champ-champ inside the UFC, has the most consecutive wins among women in the promotion with 12, and has been named Female Fighter of the Year on two occasions.