Be honest, you didn’t see this one coming.
Back in December 2021, then UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes was unanimously held as the best female fighter in mixed martial arts, and likely the best female fighter ever.
The Brazilian had run through the UFC’s 135-pound and 145-pound weight categories with minimal difficulty, defeating the likes of Valentina Shevchenko, Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm along the way. As such, her 135-pound title defence against Julianna Pena who had gone 2-2 in her previous four fights was seen by many as something of a routine title defence.
Instead, fight fans were treated to the year’s biggest upset inside the Octagon when Pena latched on to a second-round rear-naked choke that coaxed a tap from the champion.
Pena would subsequently lose to Nunes in their rematch more than two years ago and, after clearing herself from a rake of injuries, will return at this weekend’s UFC 307 in a bid to reclaim the title from reigning champion Raquel Pennington.
But before that, see below if you need a reminder of Pena’s underdog win over Nunes from a few years back.
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