UFC Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña feels she still has plenty to prove in the upcoming rematch against Amanda Nunes.
Peña pulled off arguably the biggest upset in UFC history at UFC 269, dismantling Nunes on the feet before eventually securing a rear-naked choke for the finish. It was Nunes’ first loss in the Octagon since 2014 when she lost to Cat Zingano at UFC 178.
Peña has enjoyed the newfound fame after her win over Nunes but still deals with her fair share of critics despite the success. During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Peña explained how she still has a vocal group of haters who believe her win over Nunes was an outlier.
“There’s still naysayers out there,” Peña said. “There’s still people that think there was a fluke. There’s people that are still harassing me. There’s still people that are being like, ‘She’s gonna kill you.’ They’re like, ‘10 seconds and you’re dead.’ And so I would love nothing more than to put the naysayers to bed for one last time.”
Social media trolls aren’t the only ones who have aimed at Pena following the win. Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov downplayed her victory during a recent press conference, criticizing the current level of women’s MMA. Meanwhile, Peña’s former Ultimate Fighting coach Miesha Tate believes anyone who thinks the UFC 269 outcome was a fluke is crazy.
Peña and Nunes will have a rematch later this year following coaching opposite one another on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. Peña pulled off an all-time great victory at UFC 269, and she’s looking to prove that she’s here to stay as the UFC bantamweight queen
How do you think the Julianna Peña -Amanda Nunes rematch will play out?
