After spending time coaching against Julianna Peña on The Ultimate Fighter 30, Amanda Nunes has come away with one definite takeaway — her rival is weird, reports Ben Mathews of MMA News.
UFC 269 saw Julianna Peña deliver one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, when she choked out former double-champion Amanda Nunes in the second round. Breaking a win streak that dated back to 2015, the win shocked the MMA world.
The booking of an immediate rematch was unsurprising to say the least, however the announcement that the champions would be coaching The Ultimate Fighter 30 came as a surprise to many. Regardless, it was undeniably the perfect opportunity for the two to create additional anticipation for the upcoming grudge match.
Asked to elaborate on the ‘weird’ comment, Nunes followed up by briefly touching on the attitude of ‘The Vixen’ and her teammates whilst filming the show.
“I don’t know, she’s just in her own world. They didn’t even want to interact or anything.”
The dislike for Peña is not something ‘The Lioness’ deems a completely downside. Their rivalry is something she considers an advantage for the division as a whole, as well as a motivator for her personally.
“Julianna really fired me up, I love that. It happened a little bit with me and Valentina, right? And that was very good too. So like I said, this was the opponent that I needed, and I feel like she really brought that fire back.”
