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Former UFC champion Cris Cyborg has revealed that she picked Julianna Pena to emerge victorious in her fight against Amanda Nunes at UFC 269.
After her recent victory at Bellator 279, Cyborg paid a visit to Ariel Helwani's studio for The MMA Hour. The two had a long conversation where several topics were discussed, including the start of Cyborg's MMA career and her possible transition to boxing for her next fight.
At one point, the topic of Nunes vs. Pena came up. Helwani asked whether the Brazilian's loss to Pena came as a shock to her. Cyborg said that she actually bet on 'The Venezuelan Vixen' to emerge victorious at UFC 269.
"Actually, we talk at the house and everybody together, I bet [that] Julianna Pena was gonna win... because she has the same style as Cat Zingano, you know. Amanda Nunes lost [to] Cat Zingano and I believe this [was] a same-style fight and then, the style make the fight happen. So, I was believing, maybe, she was gonna win the fight."
The 36-year-old added that she'll also be backing Pena in her rematch against Nunes later this year.
Catch Cris Cyborg's full interview with Ariel Helwani below:
Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes fought at UFC 232
Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes went toe-to-toe in a superfight for the UFC featherweight title in December 2018. Prior to the encounter, the 36-year-old was riding a 21-fight undefeated streak. Nunes, meanwhile, was on a seven-fight win streak heading into UFC 232.
On fight night, both women came out all guns blazing and started throwing heavy shots at each other. Nunes got the better of the striking exchanges and it took only 51 seconds for her to knock Cyborg out.
After that fight, Cyborg only had one more fight in the UFC. She defeated Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision at UFC 240 and then parted ways with the multi-billion dollar promotion. She currently holds gold in the Bellator MMA promotion.
