Julianna Peña rips UFC great Amanda Nunes over abrupt retirement: 'She's a coward'
Peña was initially supposed to fight Nunes a third time at UFC 289 before an injury sidelined her
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Amanda Nunes delivered one final epic performance at UFC 289 when she defeated Irene Aldana by unanimous decision to retain her bantamweight championship and then announced her retirement.
"I did everything. I broke a lot of records," Nunes said, adding she wanted to be remembered as the greatest fighter of all time.
UFC President Dana White called Nunes an icon of the sport.
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Amanda Nunes celebrates after defeating Irene Aldana during a UFC 289 women's bantamweight title bout and then announcing her retirement in Vancouver June 10, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
"She’s been incredible to work with. She’s such a good human being. … If she’s ready to go, you have to be happy for her," White said.
But the abrupt retirement didn’t sit well with everyone in the world of mixed martial arts. Julianna Peña was hoping for a third fight to put an end to their feud.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I scared you so bad into retirement. Personally, Congratulations. Professionally, wtf was that?" she wrote on Twitter.
Peña expanded on her thoughts Tuesday on TMZ Sports.
"There's unfinished business. And, listen, the reality is that Amanda retired," Peña said. "She had a great career, but let's call a spade a spade. She's a coward. From the very beginning, the UFC told me that she didn't want to fight me, and that's why it took so long for them to make the trilogy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Julianna Peña watches fights during UFC 289 at Rogers Arena June 10, 2023, in Vancouver. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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Peña and Nunes were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 289, but an injured rib knocked Peña out of the event.
"We're 1-1. It's tied up, and the fact that she walked away like this, it's unfortunate. But, personally, congratulations. Professionally, what the heck is that?" she added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Venezuelan Vixen" defeated Nunes via submission at UFC 269 and then lost via unanimous decision at UFC 277. She told TMZ she’s moving on and looking toward the future instead of wishing and wondering what a third fight would’ve been like.
Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes of Brazil touch gloves prior to facing each other in the UFC bantamweight championship fight during UFC 277 at American Airlines Center July 30, 2022, in Dallas, Texas. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
"At this point, [Amanda's] dead to me. You retired. Good. Go ride off into the sunset. Wave a good time. We gotta keep s--- pushing around here, so let's keep this division open and alive and things are gonna be exciting," Peña added.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Peña didn’t close the door for the third fight, but Raquel Pennington appears to be on her radar for the immediate future.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.