Juliana Pena wants another crack at UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Pena called for a three-way fight against Nunes after failing to retain the title in their second fight at UFC 277 over the weekend.
Pena pulled off the biggest upset in UFC history. Second round submission win over Nunes At UFC 269 in December. Pena entered Saturday’s rematch as a slight underdog, but the result better reflected the odds of their first fight. Nunes dropped Pena three times en route to a tough one-sided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-43) loss.
“Tougher than a two dollar steak,” Pena wrote on Instagram. “Thanks for all the love! Just a cat scratch that required a few stitches, no pieces missing, no surgery needed. Love you all! We are now 1-1.”
Pena closed her post with hashtags including “#Trilogy” and “#PenavsNunes3.”
Another trilogy fight possibly in the mix is a superfight between Nunes, who also holds the UFC women’s featherweight championship, and women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. The 125-pound champion teased Nunes online after the fight.
Nunes backtracked a bit, arguing that Shevchenko was on the verge of losing to Tyla Santos earlier. An accidental headbutt turned the tide of battle.
“This is ridiculous,” Nunes told him Media scrum after war. “She’s going to have to do something to stand out, because at this point, as a champion, Valentina, she’s lost her last fight. I really think if Teila doesn’t get that headbutt, that fight would be something. And could have been.”
Nunes welcomed a third fight against Shevchenko.
“Good. He’s a champion, too,” Nunes said of the prospect. “That would be great.”
Nunes defeated Shevchenko via unanimous decision in 2016. Their second fight took place the following year in five rounds for Nunes’ bantamweight championship. “The Lioness” retained her title by split decision in a fight that many believe Shevchenko should have scored. “The Bullet” later dropped to flyweight, winning the vacant belt and marking seven title defenses to date.
UFC president Dana White is also open to a Nunes-Shevchenko 3.
“That’s not a bad idea,” White said at that Scrum after the war. “Normally I’d say, ‘Come on man.’ It’s not really a bad idea, when you think about it. I’m not saying yes, I’m just saying it’s not a bad idea.”
