MAUL’S WELL
Nunes takes brutal revenge on Vixen
THE LIONESS was back in beast mode at UFC 277 to once again sit on her throne as the queen of the octagon jungle.
Amanda Nunes dispelled any doubts about her GOAT status by regaining her bantamweight title with a dominant points victory over Julianna Pena. However, Pena, who later required surgery for a deep cut on her forehead, was no easy prey after a five-round fight-of-the-year contender left both fighters bloodied and bruised, enthralling the crowd at Dallas’ American Airlines Centre. Having lost her crown last December to the ‘Venezuelan Vixen,’ Nunes, who went into their first fight after a bout of Covid and with nagging knee issues, built her own training den for the rematch – Lioness Studio in Florida – after leaving her long-time base at American Top Team.
A revitalised Lioness, who added the 135lb title to her featherweight belt, said: “I was definitely prepared this time.
“The last time I had Covid and then I had to jump straight into camp, even though I still felt very bad. During that process I hurt my knee. It was just a mess. I was not able to get ready how I like to and especially for a girl who is very tough.
“But I have now proven that (the first fight) was a lucky day for her. She had her time but now it is over.
“All the words she said about me just made me hungry, a lioness. When
I looked at her in front of me I thought, ‘This is my food, I am a lioness.’
“But I give her a lot of credit. I don’t have any bad blood with her. She helped me a lot, I like the challenge. I feel like I function better with a challenge.
“If I don’t have any challenges to push me, to trap me... Julianna is a very good trap. It brings the best out of me when I feel trapped. I shine in those moments and that’s why I really like those fights.”
Nunes dropped Pena (inset, clashing heads) with right hooks three times in round two before taking the fight to the ground in the latter stages.
Having proved over 25 minutes she is back to her physical peak, the Brazilian, who is likely to rematch with flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko next, added: “I could have gone six or seven rounds. But everything I did was all strategy.
“I was ready for how tough she is, but I wanted to go five rounds to prove that I was better than her. She did everything she could but I am better than her and I proved it.”