LAS VEGAS – Julianna Peña’s face is lifeless and emotionless. She knelt down and reached out for a hug Amanda Nunes. A Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) inspector arrived and pointed Peña to her corner, where an adjoining doctor was tending to Peña’s bruised left eye.
Peña just defeated the indomitable Nunes, the greatest female boxer of all time by any means. She just became the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. She just shocked the world.
The more than 18,000 people who were at UFC 269 Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena knew it all. Pena knows nothing. She leaned over and asked the doctor what was going on.
“I said, ‘What happened? “” Peña said during the post-fight press conference. “He said, ‘It’s over, you’re done. Congratulations.” I was like, “Oh! Gee, I don’t even know.”
Peña thought maybe the round was over and she and Nunes would fight again. She never felt or saw Nunes touch, which she did at 3:26 into the second inning. But after talking to her doctor and longtime trainer, Rick Little, a smile appeared on Peña’s face. And suddenly, she started climbing into the cage to celebrate.
That image will not soon be forgotten. Peña, which is below +650 according to Caesars Sportsbook, ended Nunes’ 12-game winless streak. UFC President Dana White says discomfort is “there” with Matt Serra‘s beautiful knockout Georges St-Pierre in 2007 among the biggest fights in UFC history.
How did Peña become the UFC women’s bantamweight champion so brilliantly on Saturday night? ESPN asked several people who had a first-hand look at the epic moment to recall what they saw.
Nunes won the first round with ease, knocking Peña down with his right hand, reversing his attempt to knock Peña down and spending the rest of the round at the top of the ground.
Small: “I like the first round. I like how it goes. I’m worried that [Nunes] will run. “
Mike Brown, Nunes Coach at American Top Team: “Wrestling early is a bad idea. I think it’s terrible to get on the ground with [Peña]. Initially, maybe [if Nunes didn’t grapple] she will have [had] strength to get her out of there. “
Peña hit a left hook that caught Nunes’ attention for 12 seconds in the second round. At 1:00, Peña landed a massive combo, her most important hits in the fight up to that point. She’s throwing straight punches, countering Nunes’s right-turn.
Pena: “People think I’m just fluent on the ground or I’m just a ground person. But in mixed martial arts, you have to be proficient everywhere. I’m confident on my feet, I’m confident on the ground. “
Michael Chiesa, Peña’s longtime teammate, who was watching from the front row: “Julie was well prepared to deal with the power of Amanda. When she came out and faced her in Round 2, I knew it was the momentum move that she would take over the fight.”
By 1:40 of the second half, Peña and Nunes had an all-out gunfight. Both women unleash massive punches and deal damage. Nunes started bleeding from her nose. Peña’s left eye began to swell.
White: “They were in the bag there and they were both throwing. [Peña] definitely landed more. But Julianna’s face also became brighter. Julianna also suffered a few punches. “
Brown: “I said [to Nunes], ‘Calm. Straight punches. Ones and twos – use your account. ‘”
Peña landed two big left hooks at 1:55 of the second round. Nunes’ dropped his hand immediately. After the punches, Peña’s mouth guard fell off. Referee Marc Goddard had to take it back and stuff it into Peña’s mouth. Peña continues to exchange punches with Nunes.
Peña: “You’re on the horse. Don’t worry about the horse. We can do this all day. I’m comfortable, I’m ready. I can see the change in her face. And then I could see my corner, ‘Go, go, go!'”
Small: “I know when I saw Amanda, she had a certain look. She did it during the fight with Cat Zingano and other wars. I see no. When you fight back, she’ll see a worried look on her face. And you can’t do that to a girl like Julianna. She is an absolute killer and if you give her a chance, she will chase you. “
1:16
Julianna Pena defeated Amanda Nunes to win the UFC women’s bantamweight title, one of the biggest wits in UFC history.
Nunes landed his large right arm at 2:28, but Peña kept going. Nunes defeated the likes Cris Cyborg with punches like that, but she can’t stop Peña.
Brown: “Look same [Nunes] was a bit out of control. She doesn’t fight smart at all. She’s just fighting. I think maybe she was thinking in her head that she was going to break her neck and get her out of there or something. But she didn’t set anything up. “
White: “I think Amanda looks tired.”
Small: “Honestly, I’m not satisfied with what [Peña] doing, because I know at any moment we can get her down there. Once we got Amanda a little weary, I knew the takedown would come – easy. Julie has knocked Sara McMann, a track and field athlete. … I was sitting there and saying, ‘Hold her.’ [Peña] just in this moment. That’s all Julianna. You can’t say coaching. That’s not the plan. That’s not how I want her to fight her. I was in the corner on the edge of my chair. “
At 3:01, Peña landed with four straight javelins, injuring Nunes. Then, Peña followed with a big four-punch combo that pushed Nunes toward the cage. Peña repeatedly throws punches and Nunes starts a nudge to slow things down. Peña shoved Nunes into the cage, lowered his knees into his body, and knocked Nunes out at 3:15 with a good move from a bodylock position. Seven seconds later, Peña brought Nunes back to Nunes in turtle pose, and put his left arm around Nunes’ neck.
Small: “This may sound crazy, but we’re having a hard time that we’re working and I know if [Nunes] gave up her return, it will be a wrap. It’s a bare-back hybrid shock absorber and it cuts your throat, man. It was uncomfortable. It’s a nasty suffocation. If you’re sucking in the air, that’s bad. It feels like your head is about to burst. … We’re having a chin tear and the choke is stretching the neck rather than the next choke. We want forward pressure. The choke is so perfect. “
When Peña suffocated her and both of Peña’s legs didn’t hook inside Nunes’ legs like a traditional nude back strangulation, Nunes ducked his head over the rug. Peña kept squeezing and Peña tapped at 3:26.
Pena: “I see her leaking [blood] a little bit from her nose and I put the vent tube in, but I’m not sure. I didn’t realize that she was mining. I remember when I beat her, I thought, ‘God, I wish someone could tell me how much time I have left in the round.’ Because I don’t know how much time is left. And then the recommender picked me up and they threw me in the corner. “
Chiesa: “When Julie finished Amanda, I was clearly overwhelmed with happiness. It was a very emotional moment for me. I know all the trials and tribulations she went through to get to that moment. That ending is her 14 years accumulation [of training] she is dedicated to this sport. “
After talking to the doctor by the ring and then Little, Peña knew for sure that she had accomplished what many considered impossible. She has been a champion – something she has said she can do since 2016. Meanwhile, Nunes is cared for by a doctor and met in a cage by her wife Nina, a female UFC strawweight boxer.
Then the celebration began.
Pena: “I used to [fighting] for 13 years and I’ve never jumped in a cage before. I’ve never even been in a cage before. [My corners] like, ‘Cage.’ I said, ‘Okay, it’s time for me to get in the cage!’ When I stood up there, I felt like this was scary. But I just feel happy. In that moment is when I say, ‘You did it.’ I just felt elated – literally elated. One of the best moments of my life. “
Brown: “I think [Nunes has] She’s been under a lot of pressure for a long time and I think maybe she feels a little bit more relieved now. I think she was in that mode a little bit. “
Small: “This is crazy. Me and [Peña] started [training] in a garage. Honestly, it hasn’t sunk in yet. It didn’t feel real. I’ve heard people say that and I don’t understand it. But it’s not real and it doesn’t sink in. “
White: “We’ve seen it so many times. Anything is possible in this sport.”
Pena: “Amanda has been such a great champion. She has contributed so much to the sport. For me, being able to beat arguably the greatest of all time… is a feat. something is still sinking in at the moment.”
