Miesha Tate thinks Julianna Peña has a significant mental advantage going into her UFC 277 title rematch with Amanda Nunes. And that goes in addition to the physical advantage she proved in the first meeting.
Peña (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is set to put her women’s bantamweight title on the line July 30 in Dallas when she runs it back with Nunes (21-5 MMA, 14-2 UFC), whom she took the belt from in one of the most unexpected title-fight results in recent memory at UFC 269 in December.
After Nunes put together a dominant reign across two divisions, Peña took her 135-pound belt with a second-round submission. The UFC booked a rematch after the pair served as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, and the fight is rapidly approaching.
Tate, who was dethroned by Nunes in the main event of UFC 200 in July 2016, is a friend and occasional training partner of Peña. She knows this matchup intimately, and though she may have some bias, she also thinks there’s a key insight that’s hard to miss.
“I think that before the last fight, Julianna knew she could win, and those around her knew she could win,” Tate told MMA Junkie. “I think the only difference is this fight, is now Amanda knows that Julie can win. And the rest of the world knows that Julie can win. Otherwise, nothing changes.”
Nunes has seemingly taken major steps to ensure there is no repeat result. “The Lioness” switched training camps from American Top Team and opened her own gym, where she said she’s more confident and comfortable.
It’s a big change, but one Tate doubts will produce the desired outcome. Tate thinks Nunes is rattled by Peña, and given the circumstances of this fights, she sees a scenario where the Brazilian crumples again.
“I’m sure Amanda is going to try to prepare differently,” Tate said. “I would assume she’s going to prepare to be better, but sometimes that poison of the mind, just knowing someone like Julie is going to be standing across the octagon from you, is just not easy to deal with. There’s a lot of pressure right now on Amanda and there’s none on Julie. It’ll be fun to watch this fight and I know that she can get it done it again.”
If Nunes loses again, it would be a tough blow to her legacy. However, all would not be lost. Nunes still is the UFC women’s featherweight champion no matter what happens at UFC 277, and Tate said a loss would signify that it’s time to possibly make a permanent move up to 145 pounds.
“Amanda is still the champ at 145,” Tate said. “So I say she goes up there to try to fill out that division.”
Miesha Tate unsure Amanda Nunes can overcome ‘poison of the mind’ in UFC 277 title rematch