Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans are set to flock to the American Airlines Center n Dallas, Texas, on July 30 for the eagerly anticipated UFC 277 event. The women’s bantamweight title rematch between reigning champion Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes is the headlight fight, with Nunes looking to regain the title she lost to Pena at UFC 269 in December 2021.
Amanda “Lioness” Nunes has legendary status in the UFC. The 34-year-old Brazilan has a professional fight record of 21 wins and five losses, with 13 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Nunes’ incredible power has helped her break several UFC records, including most wins in women’s UFC title tights (9), most UFC women’s bantamweight knockout wins (6), and most wins in the women’s bantamweight division(11). However, Nunes got her game plan all wrong at UFC 269 and ultimately relinquished her UFC Women’s Bantamweight title to Juliana “The Venezuelan Vixen” Pena.
Nunes Is A Clear Favorite, and Rightly So
Nunes is the clear favorite in the latest UFC 277 betting markets, and for a good reason: she is an incredible fighter. Until her submission defeat at the hands of Pena at UFC 269, Nunes had won 12 consecutive fights, including five successful defenses of her bantamweight belt. It is not like Nunes was fighting nobodies either. Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, and Megan Anderson were all left in Nunes’ wake. All left the octagon before the conclusion of the first round.
Although Nunes would never admit to such a thing, she obviously underestimated Pena when they fought last December. Pena had only fought three times in three years up to 2021. Valentina Shevchenko forced a second-round submission in January 2017 before Pena went the distance with Nicco Montano in July 2019. A technical submission saw Pena endure her fourth defeat in October 2020. You can see why Nunes went into UFC 269 as the clear favorite and why the “Lioness” could be forgiven for not giving Pena enough credit.
Pena’s Superior Strategy Won Her The Fight
Whatever Pena and her coaching staff worked on after her second defeat in three fights worked wonders because she looked like a brand new woman. Pena was a worthy winner at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, defeating Sara McMann with a rear-naked choke. That victory set up a title shot against Nunes, which nobody, except maybe Pena, expected “The Venezuelan Vixen” to win.
Pena looked very much like the underdog in the first round of her first title clash with Nunes, as Nunes pushed the pace hard in the first round. Nunes landed 10 of 14 significant strikes compared to Pena’a five from 20. It seemed Nunes was adopting a “go big or go home “ strategy where she aimed to knock Pena out in the first round like she had done to many opponents.
However, Pena was patient and utilized her jab with frightening efficiency. The jab is so underrated in MMA. It not only keeps your opponent at a distance but ultimately wears them down too. Pena’s jab continually connected, and she had landed 74 strikes in round two compared to Nunes’ 36 before Pena choked out the champion to secure the bantamweight title and cause one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
Nunes Will Not Be Ill-Prepared at UFC 277
There is no way that Nunes goes into the rematch against Pena as ill-prepared as the first time the two women met. Many considered Pena a run-of-the-mill fighter, but she dug deep, pulled something special out of her locker, and was a worthy winner.
Nunes dominated the women’s UFC before her shock loss to Pena. While she is used to handling the pressure that comes with being the number one in any sport, the pressure on her to reclaim her title is immense.
The former champion claimed to have been suffering injuries to both knees during the buildup to the first Pena fight, but it may just be a case of age catching up with the Brazilian superstar. Regardless, the Nunes versus Pena clash has all the hallmarks of being an all-time classic.