Amanda Nunes Says ‘I Undoubtedly Accept the Rematch’ with Julianna Pena

With accomplishments that separate her from virtually everyone else in women’s mixed martial arts, Amanda Nunes has earned the right to an immediate rematch following her shocking loss to Julianna Pena at UFC 269.

“It’s a big rematch if she wants it,” UFC president Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

Pena outdueled the heavy-handed Nunes in a slugfest, and when the Brazilian fatigued, “The Venezuelan Vixen” took her opponent down with ease and submitted her with a rear-naked choke at the 3:26 mark of Round 2. It’s an upset that ranks among the greatest in the history of the sport, one that White compared to Matt Serra’s victory over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69 in 2007.

“Julianna is a person who always believed in herself and that she could win this fight if she got it. She did it [at UFC 269],” White said. “It’s one of the things that makes this sport so incredible, when somebody is that big of an underdog.”

If there was any doubt about Nunes’ motivation to take a second fight against Pena in hopes of regaining the bantamweight crown, “Lioness” made her intentions clear with a post on her social media account Monday.

“You guys think I’m going to go out unbalanced. I undoubtedly accept the rematch,” Nunes wrote. “Give me a little time to get my shit together and I will be back better than ever.”

If and when she does square off against Pena again, Nunes will have to address some questions that haven’t been raised in quite some time. Prior to Saturday, Nunes was consistently dominant over the course of a 12-bout winning streak that established her as the female GOAT in many people’s eyes.

“When they were doing it, I thought Amanda looks like she’s getting tired,” White said. “They were in the pocket and they were both throwing. She [Pena] was definiitely landing more, but Julianna’s face was getting busted up too. Julianna was taking some punches too.

“But it doesn’t matter how strong you are, how big you are, how hard you hit — at the end of the day it comes down to who’s in better shape. And you know Julianna trained her ass off for this fight. Did Amanda?”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Amanda Nunes (@amanda_leoa)