Julianna Pena issues statement following withdrawal from upcoming title fight at UFC 289
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena issued a statement following her withdrawal from her upcoming title fight at UFC 289.
Pena was scheduled to fight her rival, the champion Amanda Nunes, in a trilogy bout set for June in Vancouver at UFC 289. But when Pena was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury, the UFC called upon Irena Aldana to fight Nunes instead, and now that fight will headline the UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view offering coming up in June.
Taking to her social media to give her fans an update, Pena explained why she withdrew from the fight.
Julianna Pena: Hi. Wanted to give it a few days before I addressed the situation. I am out of my fight in #vancouver for #ufc289. I am absolutely gutted. You guys only see us preform on one night but I wish you guys could see the other side of what #fighters have to go through on a daily basis. A fighters life is not an easy road but it’s one that lights my soul on fire. It’s my passion and I do it everyday with my whole heart. I give my everything every time I step into that octagon and I wanted nothing more then to make this fight possible. Going into a fight, you’re never 100% but in this case, the doctors intervened and I was forced to withdrawal. I train so hard and As you can see from my pictures I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into this camp to show you guys how obsessed I am at improving myself. Unfortunately it’s going to have to wait. I trust in #Godsplan and have faith everything will work out for the best. I give my sincerest apologies to @ufc and @amanda_leoa. Wishing both @irene.aldana and @amanda_leoa a great fight- looking forward to fighting the winner to regain my belt! Oss
