‘You quit. I didn’t quit. I beat her,’ Julianna Pena highlights her and Amanda Nunes’ fights with Cat Zingano

Julianna Pena is next in line for Amanda Nunes.

Between the two experienced bantamweights, they have multiple common opponents. Yet for “The Venezuelan Vixen,” one, in particular, stands out the most.

“A lot of people say, ‘Well, she got the title fight from talking sh*t,” Pena recently said on The Perimeter with Adam Morrison (h/t MMANews.com). “I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t get the title shot from talking sh*t. I’m speaking my truth. I’m telling you what happened. I was 7-0 when [Nunes] didn’t want to fight me. You beat Miesha Tate that night (at UFC 200), and I beat Cat Zingano, who freakin’ literally made you curl up in the fetal position and the ref had to pull you off. You quit. I didn’t quit. I beat her. And she stomped a mudhole in you.

“So it’s like, I’m not trying to talk sh*t. I’m just saying facts of what I saw, and what I have done, and my experience. I came back from a knee injury. I came back from having a baby. I’ve still been able to win at the highest level. I’ve dropped fights to Valentina [Shevchenko] and to Germaine [de Randamie], but with that being said, you were struggling with those girls when you fought them. I was dominating both of them before I, myself, got caught for being a freakin’ dumbass.”

With the win over Cat Zingano coming at UFC 200 for Pena (10-4), Nunes’ (21-4) loss was two years prior at UFC 178. The loss is Nunes’ last on her record and since then she’s gone on to solidify herself as one of the best fighters ever during this 12-fight winning streak. Pena is 2-2 since UFC 200 with her most recent win coming over Sara McMann in January.

Nunes will defend her bantamweight crown for the first time since December 2019 when she and Pena meet at UFC 265 on August 7.