The trash talk between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena continued following Nunes' retirement announcement at UFC 289. Pena took shots at Nunes on Twitter, claiming that she scared her rival into retirement.
Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 3 was supposed to headline UFC 289. A rib injury forced Pena to be pulled from the card. Nunes instead defeated Irene Aldana by unanimous decision in what turned out to be her retirement fight.
“I was supposed to beat her tonight again,” Nunes said in response to Pena's jab after UFC 289. “If it was Julianna Peña tonight, I wouldn't retire. I wanted to fight somebody I never fought before and then retire.”
Pena is the only woman to defeat Nunes in her last 15 fights, pulling off a shocking upset at UFC 269 on Dec. 11, 2021. Less than eight months after losing her UFC women's bantamweight championship by submission, Nunes reclaimed the title with a unanimous decision victory over Pena at UFC 277.
Pena retweeted fans who were upset that Nunes retired before the women could face off for a third time. Unless Nunes comes out of retirement, her trilogy with Pena won't be completed.
Even though she was sidelined with an injury, Pena was throwing barbs at Nunes ahead of UFC 289. Pena claimed that Nunes wasn't a draw for the sport, noting that Ronda Rousey was the much more popular fighter. Pena said that her victory over Nunes is what made the now-retired champ relevant again.
“I mean the co-main event has seven times more views than Amanda’s [fight] and she’s the main event,” Pena said.