Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena will not be taking place at UFC 265. Nunes tested positive for COVID-19, and as such is unable to fight at the event. According to ESPN, the UFC’s plan is to postpone the title fight until Nunes has recovered from this illness.
The bout was the co-main event on the UFC 265, which also features Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis facing off for the interim heavyweight title. The Gane v Lewis fight has been controversial, considering Francis Ngannou only won the undisputed heavyweight title earlier this year.
COVID-positive Nunes removed from UFC 265 card
Lewis and Gane have both earned shots at Ngannou, undoubtedly, but the interim title is a strange way of acknowledging this.
Fans will be sorry to see Nunes removed from the card. Amanda Nunes is widely considered to be one of the greatest female MMA fighters of all time, if not one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She reigns as two-division champion, conquering both the featherweight and bantamweight divisions.
Julianna Pena is ranked #5 in the women’s bantamweight division, a low ranking for a title fight, but with Nunes running through opposition as fast as she does, there are few, if any, contenders for her to take.
Amanda Nunes and Pena are both fresh off the back of submission wins. Nunes’ most recent was a first-round submission win over Megan Anderson, while Pena won a third-round submission over Sara McMann. Pena was confident in her ability to trouble the champ, but fans will just have to wait and see whenever this fight is rescheduled.
Amanda Nunes’ rise to the top of the women’s division was as terrifying as it was impressive. Back in 2016, she announced her prodigious fighting ability with no less than three massive wins. These came over Valentina Schevchenko, currently champion in the Flyweight division, Miesha Tate, and Ronda Rousey, who was then the UFC’s biggest female star.
Nunes added the likes of Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm to her list of victories. Nunes is the first woman to hold two simultaneous UFC titles, and the third fighter in UFC history to do so, following Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier. She remains the only fighter in UFC to defend two titles while actively holding them.
We wish Amanda Nunes a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her fight again. Do you want the UFC to re-book Nunes v Pena, or would you prefer to see another fighter given a title shot? Let us know in the comments.
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