Amanda Nunes surprised she’s having trilogy match against Julianna Pena at UFC 289, thought she’d fight Irene Aldana
Amanda Nunes thought Irene Aldana would be her next opponent.
After Nunes reclaimed her bantamweight title last July at UFC 277 against Julianna Pena in a rematch, the Brazilian didn’t know what would be next for her. But, as time went on, she expected to face Irene Aldana but the promotion had other plans as they made the trilogy against Pena at UFC 289 which is fine by Nunes as she just wanted to fight.
“I always say I leave it to what UFC decides. I’m ready, I’ve been training, I’m healthy. So, whatever UFC wants to do, I’m ready. I love to do this, I love to fight. I’m here to defend my belt, and Julianna wants it again, I don’t have any problems with defending my belt against her. I did [think it would be Aldana],” Nunes said to ESPN. “I thought it was gonna be her. Everything changed to Julianna and I was okay with it, too. No matter what, whatever UFC showed me the opponent, I’m gonna be happy to defend my belt.”
Back at UFC 269, Pena shocked many as she scored a submission win over Nunes to become the new champ. Yet, in the rematch, Nunes dominated Pena over all five rounds and easily reclaimed the belt, so with that, the Brazilian expects to dominate Pena once again.
“Obviously, it’s five rounds, I look [forward] to that,” Nunes said. “It’s gonna be domination. If I have the opportunity to finish her, I will this time finish her. Whatever happens, I’m gonna be the one who has their hand raised at the end of the night.”
Sites such as Powerplay Ontario already have Nunes listed as the favorite for the trilogy bout. But can Pena pull off the unthinkable once again?
UFC 289 goes down on Saturday, June 10 in Vancouver, Canada. Nunes vs. Pena will serve as the main event of the card, which is the second time this scrap headlines a pay-per-view as it headlined UFC 277 last July.
