Watch: Israel Adesanya and team hilariously perform 'Blessing of Protection' ceremony for Julianna Pena ahead of UFC 269 title bout with Amanda Nunes

Israel Adesanya (left), Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena at UFC 269 (right) [Credits: @stylebender via Instagram]

Israel Adesanya posted a video on YouTube wherein he and his friends jokingly performed a 'Blessing of Protection' ceremony for Julianna Pena before her bout with Amanda Nunes.

In the video, Israel Adesanya's brother is hilariously seen carrying out the ceremony as 'The Venezuelan Vixen' was walking towards the octagon. Pena was a huge betting underdog going into the bout.

Adesanya, who often posts videos of himself watching UFC events, reacted to Pena's unexpected and thrilling victory over former bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes.

Moments before Pena finished Nunes, Adesanya was heard saying:

"Oh, look at her! She about to shock the world! [Amanda Nunes] is panicking! She's panic striking! She's panic striking! No f***ing way! Jab, jab! Grapple her! This is where she wins...

"I've done it in sparring before, you panic and you strike... Normally [Nunes'] striking is to hit the girl, this was her saying, 'get away, get away! Stay away so I can relax and think of what I'm gonna do."

Watch Israel Adesanya's reaction video to UFC 269 below:

UFC 269 produced one of the biggest upsets in combat sports history as Julianna Pena finished Amanda Nunes in the second round.

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Pena, after a slow start to the bout, marched forward relentlessly and started landing significant strikes on Nunes. In the second round, Pena backed Nunes against the fence and proceeded to take her down. She locked in a rear-naked choke soon after, forcing 'The Lioness' to tap.

JULIANNA PENA HAS SHOCKED THE WORLD! 🤯🤯🤯

THE BIGGEST UPSET IN THE HISTORY OF THE UFC. BAR NONE. #UFC269 https://t.co/JFTD7XGY2G

Julianna Pena demands respect from the MMA community and UFC commentators

After defying the odds at UFC 269, Julianna Pena demanded respect from the MMA community. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' was a huge underdog coming into the fight against Amanda Nunes. However, the underwhelming support did not stop her from putting up a phenomenal performance in the co-main event.

Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes full fight video highlights mmafighting.com/2021/12/12/228… https://t.co/oxgiJCn1WO

At the post-fight press conference, she shared her views on the pre-fight buildup and how she was counted out by fans and media outlets alike. She added that the UFC commentators did not show her enough recognition going into the bout.

She said:

"I definitely think that people have been sleeping on me and they have not been putting any respect on my name. They haven't been giving me as much as I feel like I deserve. You know, whenever the commentators talk about Amanda Nunes, they will say everybody else's name but mine. And they can't even spell my name right. They don't ever put the tilde over the 'n', you know. So, there's little things I'm like - man, can I get some respect?"

Watch Julianna Pena's full interview at the UFC 269 post-fight press conference below: