"Nobody really had the gameplan to meet that fire with fire" - Julianna Pena describes the one aspect of her fight against Amanda Nunes that helped her succeed where others failed

Julianna Pena has shed light upon the aspect of her fight against Amanda Nunes that helped her succeed where others failed. Pena believes that her gameplan of meeting "fire with fire" is what separated her from the opponents that Nunes previously beat.

The first fight between ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ and ‘The Lioness’ transpired at UFC 269 in December of last year. The UFC women's bantamweight title matchup saw a stark contrast between its first and second rounds.

In round one, it was Nunes who out-struck and out-grappled Pena. However, in round two, the two fighters got into a slugfest, with Pena getting the better of the exchanges. Pena proceeded to out-strike and out-grapple ‘The Lioness’, defeating her via second-round submission to become the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.

During Pena’s latest interview with TSN, the interviewer noted that Nunes likes to keep people at the end of her punches. On that note, he added that Pena managed to close the distance and suffocate Nunes. When asked if this was part of her gameplan, Pena responded by stating:

“Yeah, and I think if you go back to some people’s, some of the other girls’ fights; either they would shy away from that, they would throw wild at that, or they would just like, their whole camp, prepare to just, like, eat it and block it. Nobody really had the gameplan to meet that fire with fire and face that head-on, and that was my gameplan.”

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Julianna Pena on legitimizing her title reign by beating Amanda Nunes in a rematch

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena and UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes are set to clash in a rematch at UFC 277 on July 30th. The much-awaited clash will be a bantamweight bout with Pena’s title at stake.

Ahead of the fight, Pena has been incredibly confident about going 2-0 against the legendary Nunes. In an interview with TMZ Sports earlier this year, Pena lauded ‘The Lioness’ for her contributions to MMA as a whole.

Furthermore, Julianna Pena emphasized that she aims to legitimize her title reign by defeating Amanda Nunes in their rematch and successfully defending her title. Pena noted that she still feels like a contender with a target on her back, adding that there’s a lot more work she needs to do. Pena said:

“I'm not content with just 'Oh you've got the belt.' No. You're not a champ until you defend it. And until I solidify that, this is my belt. For me, I'm waking up every morning thinking I still haven't hit my goal.”

Watch Pena’s TMZ Sports interview below: