J. Penalty in victory for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Frustrated after having her fight canceled in UFC 265, Julianna Pena follow in the wake of Amanda nunes. Challenging for the bantamweight belt (up to 61,2kg), the fighter questioned the Brazilian's motivation to defend the throne and suggested the creation of an interim belt in the group. In conversation with the press, behind the scenes of last Saturday's event (7), the Venezuelan spoke about the subject.
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“I heard from a teammate that she hasn’t even been training. Even now that she's healthy, and she is, she barely goes to the gym. It's frustrating for me, because I made this fight a priority,” said Peña.
Legend of women's MMA, Nunes left the show after testing positive for Covid-19. Even with the champion already recovered, Peña believes that the illness was not the only reason that forced the Brazilian to leave the UFC 265.
“I also have the role of mother. I want to say that I understand her position. She is a new mother, she wants to enjoy time with her baby. She has little motivation to prepare when she wants to spend time with her newborn. I understand. I've been in that position. But if she doesn't fight in December, it will be two years since she defended the bantamweight title. We have to keep the train moving. Let's find a girl and fight for the interim belt. When she’s ready to come back, she can come take it (the belt) off my fingers,” she concluded.
Out of combat last weekend, Amanda confirmed that she had been diagnosed with Covid-19 in recent weeks. The Brazilian, however, guaranteed that a new date for the fight will be confirmed soon. The confrontation, however, has not yet been made official by Ultimate.
Absolute leader of the category since 2016, Nunes has five title defenses in the group. The Bahian's performance in the division was in December 2019, when she beat Germain de Randamie in the unanimous decision of the judges.
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