Julianna Pena wants a trilogy bout with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
“Everyone keeps asking me what’s next,” Pene wrote in a recent Instagram post. “I’m getting my belt back that’s what’s next! A trilogy with [Nunes] is the fight to make. I did everything I said I was going to do going into that first fight. I gave Amanda the immediate rematch within six months and man maybe I should have sat out for two years like she does?”
Pena upset Nunes at UFC 269, scoring a second-round submission win over the long-reigning champion. Pena used pressure and output to overwhelm the champ, who was a -1250 favorite over Pena, who entered the bout as a +210 underdog.
Pena and Nunes met in a rematch at UFC 277. The odds in that fight were closer, with Nunes the -286 favorite over Pena, who entered her first title defense as the +200 underdog. Nunes scored a clean sweep on the scorecards in that scrap (50-45, 50-44, 50-43), changing up her stance, scoring six takedowns and racking up nearly 12 minutes of control time.
In her post, the ex-champ noted Nunes’ approach to the rematch, “She had to go home and revamp her entire style to beat me,” Peña wrote. “I take it as a compliment. She outsmarted me the second time I give her that. We are 1-1 and this time I will not miss. [UFC], the trilogy needs to happen.”
The UFC has not booked Nunes, who also holds the promotion’s 145-pound title, for her next title defense. Pena is the No. 1 ranked fighter in the official UFC women’s bantamweight division.
