Julianna Pena explains why her “back hurts” ahead of trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes at UFC 289: “From carrying this fight and from making her relevant again”

Julianna Pena is explaining why her ‘back hurts’ ahead of her trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes at UFC 289.

It was announced on April 9th that UFC 289 will feature Nunes vs. Pena 3 in the upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship which takes place on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. The bantamweight title bout will see Nunes (22-5 MMA) taking on Peña (11-5 MMA) in the Octagon.

The two fighters first met in December of 2021 at UFC 269 where it was Pena defeating Nunes by way of a shocking submission at 3:26 of round 2 and in doing so claiming the title. ‘Lioness’ was looking for revenge in July of 2022 at UFC 277 and obtained a lopsided unanimous decision win over ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’.

This June, in B.C., Canada, we will see a trilogy fight between the two, where Nunes will be putting her crown on the line for a third consecutive fight with Pena inside the cage.

Julianna Pena, during an appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’ with Ariel Helwani, reflected on her upcoming bout with two-division champion Nunes (h/t MMANews):

“I’m a star. You realize how bad my back hurts right now? My back is broken, okay, from carrying this fight and from making her relevant again after I beat her the first time. Literally, my back hurts. We are, of course, going to be the main event (at UFC 289). I’m carrying us all the way there, like I always do.”

Pena, 33, has a mixed bag of 3 wins and 3 losses in her last 6 fights in the Octagon.

Nunes, 34, had an impressive 12 consecutive wins in the Octagon prior to her loss to Peña at UFC 269. Rebounding and getting back in the win column at UFC 277, the fighter aims to keep her title and crown this coming June when she faces Peña a third time.

What do you think of Julianna Pena’s comments that she is the one ‘carrying this fight’ and making Nunes ‘relevant again’?

Who are you betting on for the win at UFC 289 – Nunes or Pena?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!