Julianna Pena relishing in underdog role against Amanda Nunes at UFC 277: “They said she slipped on a banana peel and that’s why I won”

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena is out to prove her win over Amanda Nunes wasn’t a fluke.

The two champions are set to meet in the main event of UFC 277 this Saturday night. It’ll be the second time that they’ve crossed paths, as they first clashed last December. Prior to that outing, Nunes was a massive betting favorite.

However, the odds proved to be a massive miscalculation. After being knocked down in round one, the challenger flipped the script in the second frame. Pena stunned Nunes on the feet and then scored a submission victory on the ground.

With that, Julianna Pena had the women’s bantamweight title and handed Amanda Nunes her first defeat in seven years. However, something she didn’t earn was the respect of the oddsmakers. Once again, she’s a massive underdog heading into her fight this weekend.

However, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ doesn’t really care about the odds. As she revealed in an interview on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Pena being a big underdog actually motivates her. Heading into her pay-per-view headlining role, the champion is out to prove her win last year wasn’t a fluke.

Image Credit: @UFC/Instagram

“I think, at the end of the day that’s the whole reason we’re doing this rematch. They said she slipped on a banana peel and that’s why I won. So that chip on my shoulder is still there, and I’m here to prove that she didn’t just fall on a banana peel. That I won in dominant fashion, and that’s exactly what I plan to do on Saturday night as well.”

Julianna Pena continued, “It’s not some win that just came out of the blue sky. It absolutely was my plan to beat her and I’m here to prove it again. That I am the new champion, and it’s the Pena power era now.”

What do you think about Julianna Pena’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below!