UFC 269: Julianna Pena accuses Amanda Nunes of fighting ‘cans’ like Ronda Rousey
- Pena believes two-division UFC champ has benefited from favourable matchmaking – ‘you’ve been continuing to pick cans,’ she says.
- Nunes does not take kindly to the claim, telling American title challenger ‘you’re not going to be a champion, girl’
Amanda Nunes is widely considered the greatest fighter in women’s mixed martial arts history, but if you ask Julianna Pena, the hype is overblown.
The 33-year-old Brazilian Nunes (21-4) owns the UFC’s bantamweight and featherweight titles, and has defeated every other woman to hold the belt in either division: Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg and Germaine de Randamie.
Yet according to 32-year-old American Pena, who will challenge Nunes for the bantamweight title at UFC 269 this Saturday night in Las Vegas, the champion’s success can be attributed to her hand-picking opponents.
“You let Ronda Rousey cut the line after she got knocked out [by Holm],” Pena (10-4) told Nunes at the UFC 269 pre-fight press conference, accusing the champion of picking easy matchups. “You picked a can, and you’ve been continuing to pick cans. Everybody that you pick has already lost and been defeated.”
Pena has been a top bantamweight contender for years, but has yet to fight for the division’s title. She says Nunes promised her that opportunity after UFC 200 in 2016, but failed to deliver.
“We’ve been talking about this fight for a very long time,” Pena said. “At UFC 200, when she beat Miesha, she said she’d fight me and she didn’t. She let Ronda Rousey cut the line.”
While Pena believes Nunes has benefited from favourable matchmaking, the champion begged to differ, claiming that the American challenger does not bring anything new to the table.