Julianna Pena believes she finishes on top of Amanda Nunes rivalry: “A finish is better than a scorecard”

Julianna Pena believes she has been able to get the edge on Amanda Nunes in their rivalry despite it being locked at 1-1.

Last weekend, Amanda Nunes retired from professional mixed martial arts. She did so following her win over Irene Aldana, ensuring she walked away as a double champ. Julianna Pena, meanwhile, was in the crowd, heckling Nunes as she gave her retirement speech.

Pena was initially scheduled to fight Nunes at UFC 289 instead of Aldana. However, after she was forced out of the contest, she was left to hope that ‘The Lioness’ would stick around beyond her bout in Vancouver. As we now know, that will not be the case.

RELATED: JULIANNA PENA SLAMS AMANDA NUNES FOLLOWING HER RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT AT UFC 289

During a recent interview, Pena explained why – despite their rivalry being 1-1 – she feels like she’s been able to get the edge on her Brazilian foe.

“Professionally, I know that it’s going to be the thorn in her side for the rest of her life,” Peña said. “I believe a submission finish is more dominant than any scorecard that you could put in front of me… As far as I’m concerned, I still have a one up on her, okay? She didn’t finish me. I was literally coming at her the entire time (at UFC 277), I ran out of time.

Pena’s logic

“Brass tacks, when it all comes down to things, when she was supposed to be the greatest of all time, she tapped! She was asking for help to get out of there,” Peña continued. “Like I said, a finish is better than a scorecard. She couldn’t finish me. I’m not gonna have a thorn in my side because as far as I’m concerned, I still have a win over her.”

Quotes via MMA News

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