VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Amanda Nunes doesn’t see Juliana Pena becoming the next heir to her throne.
Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) retired after retaining her bantamweight title against Erin Aldana (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) last Saturday in the main event of UFC 289 at Rogers Arena.
Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who was originally scheduled to face Nunes before pulling out due to a rib injury, Nunes was charged with running Far from retiring their three-way bout – and The Lioness couldn’t help but laugh at that statement.
“Oh my God, what can I say about that girl?” “She’s supposed to be here. I’m supposed to beat her again tonight. She doesn’t know how to train, she breaks ribs, what am I going to do?” Nunes told reporters at the post-fight press conference at UFC 289.
“If it’s Juliana Peña tonight, I’m not retiring because I want to fight someone I’ve never fought to retire. Tonight, it wouldn’t be tonight. I would beat Juliana and then fight Aldana or whatever and then retire.”
With Nunes choosing to hang up her gloves, the UFC’s bantamweight title is now vacant. Peña is the only woman to beat Nunes during her reign of dominance, but Nunes doesn’t see her taking back the gold. Nunes dominated Peña when they immediately returned to UFC 277 to win back her super bantamweight title.
“No,” Nunes said of Peña becoming a hero. “I don’t think so. I think Aldana can beat her. I feel like she (Peña) was lucky in that fight against me. She knows I wasn’t ready, but I proved it in the second fight and I don’t think she’s going to be a champion. She’s not ready. She’s not Ready to be a hero.”
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