UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Peña is the talk of the town after securing a career-defining victory against Amanda Nunes. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ shocked the world when she was able to tag Nunes on the feet and unload a barrage of strikes. Moreover, she got Nunes to the ground and submitted for ‘champ-champ’ who was clearly exhausted by that point.
With arguably the biggest underdog victory in the UFC since Georges St-Pierre vs Matt Serra, Peña is keen to elevate her status. She spoke out at the UFC 269 post-fight press conference and was asked to chime in on the possibility of coaching on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. Chiefly, Peña won season 18 of TUF and it would be sensational to return as a coach on the show.
The biggest upset in UFC 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘! @VenezuelanVixen is the NEW UFC BW champion 👑 #UFC269 pic.twitter.com/5nxFJQP44a
— UFC (@ufc) December 12, 2021
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Peña vs Nunes as coaches on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’?
Julianna Peña was interested in the idea of building up a rematch against Nunes by first competing as opposing coaches on TUF. Having competed on the show as a challenger back in 2013, this would be a huge footnote in her career. Not to mention, Julianna Peña is well versed on the mic and will certainly be an entertaining coach.
“That’s a great idea. I would love to coach the Ultimate Fighter, it’s always been a dream of mine. I would love for her [Amanda Nunes] to coach alongside me. I got nothing but love and respect for Amanda. I think she’s been a great champion and coaching the Ultimate Fighter would be another dream come true for me.”
Peña fought three exhibitions bouts back in 2013 on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season 18. Her opponents were Gina Mazany, Shayna Bazler, and Sara Moras, and she defeated her last two opponents via submission. Her efforts ultimately culminated with a finale showdown against Jessica Rakoczy, which she won via TKO at 4:59 of the very first round.
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The chance to go head-to-head against Nunes on a stage like TUF would be massive for a former winner of the competition. Not to mention, fans will always get behind a ‘full circle’ moment for an athlete looking to make a giant splash.
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