Pena shocks Nunes with submission to win UFC bantamweight title
While Amanda Nunes continued to cement herself as the greatest women's fighter of all time after multiple title defenses, people wondered if anyone would be able to knock her off the bantamweight throne.
Julianna Pena was that woman.
Pena submitted Nunes - a 10-to-1 favorite - with a rear-naked choke at the 3:26 mark of the second round in the UFC 269 co-main event Saturday in Las Vegas to become the new women's 135-pound champion. It was one of the biggest upsets in the promotion's history.
"I'm not surprised, motherf------," Pena said in her postfight interview, taking a page out of Nate Diaz's book when he defeated Conor McGregor in 2016.
"I told you. Don't ever doubt me again," the new champion added. "Willpower, strength, and determination - it will take you places."
Pena and Nunes slugged it out on the feet in a dramatic second round as both women tagged each other with big punches. It was a different look for Nunes, who beat most of her previous challengers easily and almost never got tagged in fights. Amidst the madness, Pena scored a takedown, took Nunes' back, sunk in a rear-naked choke, and forced the tap.
Pena said at the postfight press conference she didn't realize Nunes tapped and thought the round might've ended before a commission member said she won the fight, according to TSN's Aaron Bronsteter.
Nunes performed well in Round 1, landing shots on the feet before getting Pena to the ground.
Pena entered as the No. 5-ranked bantamweight contender and earned the title shot against Nunes after a third-round submission of Sara McMann in July. She had lost her previous fight before that.
"The Venezuelan Vixen" joined the UFC in 2013 with a lot of hype around her after winning "The Ultimate Fighter 18." She won her first four bouts in the Octagon but then went 2-2 leading up to Saturday's title fight, also sitting out for significant amounts of time due to injuries and her pregnancy.
Nunes is still the UFC women's featherweight champion, though it's unclear what her next step will be. UFC president Dana White said at the postfight press conference that the promotion will give her an immediate rematch with Pena if she wants it, according to Bronsteter.
"The Lioness" had held the bantamweight belt since July 2016 when she submitted Miesha Tate in the main event at UFC 200. The title had moved around multiple times in the months leading up to Nunes' reign, with Holly Holm shocking Ronda Rousey and then Tate beating Holm.
The Brazilian defended the 135-pound belt five times and the 145-pound strap - which she captured in December 2018 with a first-round knockout of Cris Cyborg - twice. This was her first bantamweight title defense since her fight with Germaine de Randamie in December 2019. Her last two bouts took place at featherweight.
Nunes was riding a 12-fight winning streak and hadn't lost in the Octagon since September 2014.