MMA Preview – Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena at UFC 269
AMANDA NUNES VS JULIANNA PENA FACTS
When is UFC 269? Sunday 12th December, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 269? T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 269? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 268
What channel is UFC 269 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC 269? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
AMANDA NUNES VS JULIANNA PENA LOWDOWN
Amanda Nunes (21-4) is the ‘GOAT’ of women’s MMA and frankly, should be celebrated more. The double champion has cleaned out the bantamweight and featherweight divisions and is on a 12-fight win streak with eight finishes (five knockouts and three submissions). She is coming off two featherweight title defences - Felicia Spencer (2020) via unanimous decision and Megan Anderson (2021) via submission. This will be the seventh defence of her bantamweight title which she lasted defended in 2019 when she cleaned Holly Holm’s clock with a head kick.
Her next challenger is Julianna Pena (10-4) who has fought four times in the last five years going 2-2 which says a lot about the bantamweight division right now. That said, Pena is a very tough individual and since recovering from a career threatening knee injury in 2014, she has rallied back with decent wins over the likes of Jessica Eye (2015), Cat Zingano (2016), Nicco Montano (2019) and most recently Sara McMann (2021) who she submitted in the third round. Her recent losses also came to Valentina Shevchenko who is right behind Nunes in the pound-for-pound list right behind Nunes on the pound-for-pound list and Germaine de Randamie.
AMANDA NUNES VS JULIANNA PENA PREDICTION
Pena is a very strong and durable wrestler and her game plan will be to grapple Nunes for five rounds and that is why she is a monstrous underdog. Nunes is the most dangerous striker in female history, but she is also a very powerful grappler.
She has the jiu-jitsu to fend off any submission attempts and the wrestling to prevent the fight going to the canvas in the first place. Pena is likely to enforce a clinch and may even land a takedown, but Nunes’ technique and power will create enough space to offload her frightening power to make Pena look like an amateur on the feet and claim her 14th knockout.
Prediction: Nunes via KO/TKO - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
