"There's a bit of a chip on my shoulder" - Julianna Pena finds motivation in her frustration with fans who claim she was lucky against Amanda Nunes

Julianna Pena has suggested that she’s motivated by those who claim that she got lucky in her first fight against Amanda Nunes. Pena faced Nunes last December and pulled off a monumental upset, submitting ‘The Lioness’ and capturing the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ is set to defend her title in a rematch against Nunes at tonight’s UFC 277 event. In an edition of The DC Check-In with UFC legend Daniel Cormier, Pena addressed her rematch against Nunes. ‘DC’ harked back to the first Pena-Nunes matchup and referenced Nunes’ claims that she wasn’t at her best heading into the fight.

Cormier indicated that Nunes was indeed having problems at ATT (American Top Team), where she’d trained for several years. ATT staff were simultaneously coaching Nunes and her potential future opponent Kayla Harrison.

‘DC’ highlighted that Nunes left ATT after losing to Pena and now trains at her own gym. Cormier and Pena concurred that Nunes would enter the rematch as a better version of herself compared to last time. Suggesting that Nunes would have no excuse to lose to her this time, Pena stated:

“There’s a bit of chip on my shoulder, because everybody thinks that [Amanda] slipped on a banana peel, and that’s why I won that night.”

Julianna Pena emphasized that she’d been telling everyone for years how she’d beat Amanda Nunes, and that is exactly what she did. Pena explained that the fact that people are still doubting her frustrates and motivates her to prove them wrong. The 32-year-old said:

“It motivates me. It makes me so angry. And that’s what has fueled this camp, for me, is to know that I’m gonna do it again. And then, when I do, there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind. It is the ‘Pena Power’ era.”

Watch Pena discuss the topic at 11:40 in the video below:

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Could a Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes trilogy be on the table after UFC 277?

One of the biggest talking points heading into the rematch between Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes is the possibility of a trilogy fight. The consensus is that a third encounter between them is highly likely, provided Nunes is able to even the score by beating Pena tonight.

Regardless, top-tier bantamweights like Ketlen Vieira, Holly Holm, and Irene Aldana are chomping at the bit to fight for the title. On that note, if Pena manages to go 2-0 against Nunes, the Pena-Nunes trilogy will almost certainly be off the table for now. In that scenario, Pena would probably have to defend her belt against one of the aforesaid contenders instead.