UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Pena says she 'always had the mental advantage' over Amanda Nunes - New Style Motorsport

Julianna Pena thinks she has an even better read on Amanda Nunes after spending time with her past and future opponent on The last fighter. Peña took off a shocking disgust at UFC 269 in December, cashing in as a big underdog to defeat the UFC’s all-time great women’s bantamweight champion.

The reality TV show has produced some nasty mind games between its rival coaches at times. Pena believes that she already has the mental advantage over Nunes, so she didn’t feel compelled to gain ground on the reality show.

“I think I’ve always had the mental edge when it comes to Amanda. I’ve been calling this fight for the last five years,” Pena told “Morning Kombat” this week. “She hasn’t wanted to fight me. She’s always made all the excuses. Like I’m not worth it to her or ‘I’m going to find Ronda instead’ or find a way out of every fight we have. It bothers what I feel and what I say and my way of approaching things. He has made it very clear.

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Peña learned something about the woman considered by many to be the greatest of all time in women’s mixed martial arts.

“She requires a little more maintenance than I had originally thought. You’ll see what I mean, but that’s all I can say for now,” Peña said. “I really thought she was high maintenance, like highest maintenance, like no one was higher maintenance than me. Right? I’m a diva! Then I experienced the things that Amanda was doing.”

Peña cemented one of the biggest underdog wins in MMA history by defeating Nunes via submission. Facing her eventual revenge, the champion is prepared for her rival to take things seriously.

“I think I lit a gas can right under her butt. She’s going to be more focused than ever. I think she’s going to be the best Amanda she’s ever been, which is funny because that’s what she does.” she said she’s going to do it the first time,” Peña said. “This time she’s coming at 110%. I’m going to get the best version of Amanda Nunes. That’s great because she was ready for the best version of Amanda Nunes in August. I was ready for the best version of Amanda Nunes in December. Whenever that date happens, hopefully in September on that Jon Jones card, I’ll be ready for that best version of Amanda Nunes.”

Pena doesn’t seem too comfortable usurping the GOAT title from Nunes at this stage. He threw out a more appropriate title that speaks to what he has accomplished so far.

“You think when you beat the GOAT, you become the GOAT killer?” Pena asked. “Well then I guess he could be the goat killer.”

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