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Julianna Pena was unable to shock the world for the second time in a row when she lost to Amanda Nunes this past weekend in her first title defense. It was a closely-contested bout, with Pena arguably seconds, or inches, away from securing a fight-winning armbar.
But Brendan Schaub has told Pena's fans not to worry, as he feels that she will be champion again in the not too distant future.
Schaub broke down the recent UFC 277 main event on his podcast, The Schaub Show, and was of the opinion that Nunes will only have a couple of fights left in her career. After that, he thinks that the belt is Pena's for the taking.
"If you're a Julianna fan, don't be sad. Amanda doesn't have a lot of fights left. If Amanda leaves, who's going to beat Pena? Pena's your champ. She'll be champ again, guarentee it. Does she beat Amanda Nunes? Absolutely not, but Amanda Nunes has one or two fights left, and it's probably not going to be Julianna Pena."
Watch the podcast episode below:
All that stood in the way of Pena winning the rematch against Nunes was seemingly a few inches of space being occupied by the octagon fencing, which did not allow for the perfect angle needed to finish the submission.
If Pena is unable to beat a fully fit and raring-to-go Nunes, then it seems that her hopes to regain the belt may have to wait until 'The Lioness' retires.
Julianna Pena is calling for a trilogy fight against Amanda Nunes.
Julianna Pena was defeated by Amanda Nunes via a unanimous decision at UFC 277. Pena is well aware of the current score and called for an immediate rematch in a post on Instagram following the fight.
She wrote:
"COURAGE: strength in the face of pain. 1-1. Best out of three wins."
Julianna Pena will be hoping to shut the doubters up, which includes Brendan Schaub, once and for all. A second victory over Nunes would make Pena undeniably great.
The UFC, however, may view a potential trilogy fight with current flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko as a better fit for Nunes. Although the fight may feature two of the best female fighters to ever grace the sport, Nunes holds a 2-0 record over 'Bullet', which could make this fight more difficult to sell.
