Meisha Tate is putting all her confidence in Julianna Peña ahead of the new bantamweight champion’s rematch against Amanda Nunes.
It is no secret that Miesha Tate is a fan of the newly crowned champion Julianna Peña. The two are good friends and former training partners. Tate was also Peña’s coach on their season of The Ultimate Fighter, and since then, she knew that Peña had what it takes to become a UFC champion.
Now that Peña has defeated longtime champ Amanda Nunes, some people are caulking it up to luck or an off day on Nunes’ part. To these doubters, Tate has a message.
“Oh, they’re crazy,” Tate said.
Tate knows firsthand what it takes to become a UFC champion. And although her championship run was cut short by Nunes herself, Tate is positive that Peña could beat her again.
“Yes, absolutely. She just has a no-quit, no-give-up mentality. And now that the seed of doubt has been planted in Amanda’s mind, that’s probably where I see the biggest change going, and that’s not gonna favor Amanda,” Tate told Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour.
The rematch between Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes is targeted for later this year after the two women have wrapped up the upcoming season as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.
As for what 2022 holds for “Cupcake,” Tate has announced that since Peña, her good friend is the reigning champ at 135 pounds, she will be dropping to flyweight. Tate will be making her flyweight debut against Lauren Murphy in April.
Do you think Amanda Nunes would beat Julianna Peña in a rematch?
