Amanda Nunes made up for her promise to take revenge in an emphatic way when she stepped into the cage at UFC 277.
That pay-per-view took place on this day, July 30, in 2022. Two titles were on the line in the American Airlines Center of Dallas, with Julianna Pena who defended the ladies' bantam weight in the main event and an interim-flying belt that was on the line between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France.
For 'The Venezuelan Vixen', UFC 277 marked her first defense after he had shocked the world seven months earlier. Pena submitted Nunes in one of the greatest disturbances of the promotion ever in December 2021, so that she made up for her promise to put an end to the two-division of the Brazilian.
But while Pena promised to repeat the performance and prove that her UFC 269 triumph was not a ranger, Nunes had other plans – and they were brutal …
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Amanda Nunes Rematch left Julianna Pena with a 'lump missing on her forehead'
Nunes conveniently defeated Pena on UFC 277 and put a Beatdown on her arch rival in five rounds in Texas.
After several knockdowns and an attack of bumps that left the then narcotic champion bloody and deformed, the 'lioness' let her hand stand up by a unanimous decision in which three crooked 50-44, 50-44 and 50-43 scorecards saw the way of Nunes.
UFC president Dana White has detailed detailed how bad the Beatdown was during his press conference after the fight, which showed that the damage was so brutal that Pena had to see a plastic surgeon.
“Julianna has a large piece missing on her forehead,” said White. “She is now going to see a plastic surgeon.
“She will take some time to heal, and then I don't know. She was picked up pretty tonight. It was like five or six knockdowns in the first two rounds. She was injured. She has to take some free time, relax, spend some time with her daughter and then we go from there.
“I thought it was completely dominant,” White went on. “There were five knock-downs in the first two rounds. There is a big difference between submission attempts and knockdowns. They are not even comparable. Julianna's tough as nails and her will to win is second on another. She wanted to win.”
Julianna Pena still has hope for an Amanda Nunes trilogy despite the last setback
Three years after her abuse by Nunes in their rematch, Pena does not give up in her search for a feud-settling trilogy with the 'Lioness'.
She missed that in June 2023 after she withdrew from UFC 289. After Pena withdrew, Nunes dominated Irene Aldana in Canada before announcing a surprise pension.
It was not long before the Brazilian reversed that decision and committed himself to a comeback, where Nunes focused on the winner of Pena vs. Kayla Harrison. Although that restored the hope of the then camp on a third confrontation with its dual rival, things did not go as planned for Pena last June.
Harrison submitted Pena to UFC 316 via Kimura, and dented her plan to be opposed to Nunes in the Octagon. But 'the Venezuelan vixen' does not indicate.
Pena caused a commotion after the fight when she outlined her intention to challenge who comes from Harrison's expected defense against Nunes as a Bantam weight queen.