Cornered Julianna Pena Sends a Disrespectful Message to Rival Amanda Nunes as MMA GOAT Retires at UFC 289: “WTF Was That?”

UFC 289 kept the fans’ spirits high with the tremendous prowess of the fighters in the Octagon. Charles Oliveira rising victorious over Beneil Dariush in the co-main event and Amanda Nunes claiming the win over Irene Aldana sent jolts of excitement through the fans’ hearts. Nunes further claimed everyone’s respect after she announced her retirement during the post-fight interview. Without a doubt, with a family to take care of now, retirement seemed a good option for the WMMA warrior. However, not everyone felt the same way.

Nunes’ former opponent and rival, Julianna Pena, seemed disappointed at the announcement. She took to Twitter and sent a message to ‘The Lioness’, taunting her with the thought that she scared her into taking retirement. Although personally, she congratulated Nunes, it disappointed her in a professional sense as she has a score to settle with the Brazilian.

Julianna Pena didn’t want Amanda Nunes to retire

The rivalry between ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ and ‘The Lioness’ goes a long way back. Pena was supposed to fight Nunes at UFC 289. But an unfortunate rib injury forced her to sit out of the fight. In Pena’s stead, the UFC pitted Aldana against Nunes in the fight.

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After Nunes declared her retirement, the entire world seemed to be happy for her, except Pena. She apparently wanted to fight Nunes and snatch the title from her. However, the dream couldn’t turn into reality with the fighter’s retirement.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ took to Twitter and shared a tweet, taking a jab at her former opponent. She declared that she scared Nunes enough to force her to opt for retirement. She wrote, “I scared you so bad into retirement. Personally, Congratulations. Professionally, wtf was that?”

In another tweet, the women’s bantamweight fighter believed Nunes’ retirement was a compliment to her prowess. She wrote, “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Nevertheless, she couldn’t hide her desire to go against Nunes one more time.

The history between Nunes and Pena

Nunes and Pena landed against each other for the first time in UFC 269. Nunes was on a 12-win streak but lost her belt to Pena in a shock upset. The loss affected her deeply, and she promised to get the belt back. 

Finally, at UFC 277, Nunes defeated Pena and became the two-time bantamweight champion. With a title defense against Aldana, Nunes announced her retirement as a double champion.

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What are your thoughts on Pena’s response to Nunes’ retirement? Let us know in the comments down below.