Julianna Pena claims Amanda Nunes ‘doesn’t touch me next time,’ unimpressed ‘Lioness’ responds

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena was on the scene for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 30 finals as part of the UFC Vegas 59 mixed martial arts (MMA) event last weekend in Las Vegas, supporting the fighters she coached during the 2022 season.

Opposing coach, Amanda Nunes, was nowhere to be found.

After the event concluded, Pena stuck around to talk about her rematch with her Brazilian rival at UFC 277, which ended in favor of “Lioness.” Not surprisingly, “The Venezuelan Vixen” is looking for a rubber match with Nunes before the end of the year to settle their score.

“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?” Pena said during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 59 post-fight show (via MMA Junkie). “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.”

Here’s the response from Nunes:

Pena (11-5) won their UFC 269 title fight by way of second-round submission, but then came up short on the judges’ scorecards in last month’s one-sided rematch. That said, promotion president Dana White didn’t sound like he was in much of a hurry to book a trilogy fight.

Especially with Ketlen Vieira waiting in the wings.

Nunes (22-5) is also expected to defend her featherweight title when she makes her return to the Octagon. There’s talk of bringing PFL champ Kayla Harrison into the fold after she completes her 2022 contract, but that’s just conjecture and scuttlebutt ... for now.

For complete UFC Vegas 59 and TUF 30 Finale results click here.