Ahead of her return to action later this summer, undisputed bantamweight champion, Julianna Pena has revealed she plans to score a trilogy rubber match with rival, Amanda Nunes — if she can successfully topple the incoming force of Kayla Harrison in their UFC 316 showdown.
Pena, a two-time and incumbent bantamweight champion, is set to co-headline the promotion’s return to New Jersey in June, taking on former two-time PFL (Professional Fighters League) tournament winner, Harrison in the pair’s own respective grudge match.
Sidelined since winning the crown for a second time back in October of last year, Washington native, Julianna Pena most recently landed a close, competitive decision win over then-champion, Raquel Pennington in the pair’s heated showdown in Salt Lake City.
And last month, former two-division champion, Nunes confirmed she would be returning to action as soon as later this year — snapping a retirement dating back to summer 2023.
Julianna Pena talks up Amanda Nunes title trilogy fight this year
However, according to Pena — the Bahia native issued her a strict ultimatum in order to score a trilogy bout. First, she must traverse common-foe, Harrison in their UFC 316 title fight in ‘The Garden State’.
“She (Amanda Nunes) told me, though, ‘It’s all up to you,’” Julianna Pena told Ariel Helwani for Uncrowned. “‘It’s all in your hands. And everything will be decided and everything is going to be determined by you. And what you do.’ And, so, she’s basically saying, I will grant you the trilogy — pending, you know, you take care of your business on June 7. And that’s exactly what I’m prepared and will do.”
Scoring a shocking upset win over then-two-weight champion, Nunes back in 2021, Pena turned in arguably the biggest upset win in the history of the promotion with a staggering second round rear-naked choke submission win.
However, rematching the following summer, Pena would be dropped on multiple occasions in a one-sided decision loss in the pair’s title re-run.
