Amanda Nunes is motivated to avenge her loss to Julianna Pena.
Nunes (21-3, 14-3 UFC) suffered a shocking upset loss to Pena (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the UFC 269 co-main event this past in December and lost the women’s bantamweight title by second-round submission.
Still the UFC’s women’s featherweight champion, Nunes is eager to get the 135-pound belt back – not just to regain her dual-champ status, but to get the fight back from Pena.
“Honestly, of course the belt is something that all of us chase,” Nunes said in an interview with ESPN. “At this point in my life, I just want to show up 100 percent how I want to be. So with the belt, without the belt, I just want to really, really prove I’m better than her.”
Pena and Nunes will coach Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which will feature teams comprised of four women’s flyweights and four men’s heavyweights. The show begins filming this month and the first of the 12-episode season will debut May 3 and stream on ESPN+. The pair are expected to rematch after the airing of the show concludes.
In the wake of her loss to Pena, rumors emerged that Nunes will be departing her longtime gym, American Top Team, to start her own team. For Nunes, “The Ultimate Fighter 30” will be a good opportunity to kickstart the coaching career that she’s always had in mind.
“Every fighter wants to one day be a coach,” Nunes said. “So this is a perfect opportunity to start doing it with a bunch of fighters to see how I do with them, to put my experience out there. They’re going to share some things with me, too. So I’m so, so happy to share these things with them and help them make their dream come true.
“After all of this is done, I want to be a coach. So when I say I want to open a gym, I didn’t say I’m going to open a public gym. I want to open a private space. If I have to start over, I want to do something the way I want to do (it).”
Amanda Nunes: With or without the belt, I just want to really prove I’m better than Julianna Pena
