Julianna Pena may have been handily beaten by Amanda Nunes in their title rematch at UFC 277 just a week ago, but the former champ is already calling for a trilogy fight between the two.
“I’m ready to go Round 8 right now, like, let’s freakin’ go,” Pena said on the UFC On ESPN 40 post-fight show after watching two of the fighter she coached on The Ultimate Fighter 30 show, Mohammed Usman and Julianna Miller, become TUF season winners.
“I’m here, where you at Amanda? Amanda, seriously, where you at? You left your girl hanging out there. I showed up for Team Peña, she didn’t show up for Team Nunes. I’m here, I’m ready to go Round 8.”
Pena also claimed that it was Nunes stance-switching that threw her off her game in the rematch, which saw her being dropped multiple times, but says that she’ll be well prepared for that next time if the rubber match does come to fruition.
“When someone has entirely revamped and completely switched their entire stance, and their entire fighting style because of me, I take that as a complement, you know? And I think that if you give me time to get ready for both stances of Amanda, she doesn’t touch me next time. I’m just really hoping that she heals up and that she’s able to get back in there before the end of the year because I’ll absolutely be ready for that trilogy fight.”
However, it seems that Nunes may be more interested in another trilogy fight instead, as at the UFC 277 post-fight press conference she said it “would be awesome” to have a third bout with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who she has already beaten twice in the past at bantamweight.
