The former Bantamweight women’s champion had this to say about the upcoming rematch between champion Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes.
Miesha Tate, who is fighting next weekend vs. Lauren Murphy has an opportunity to get another title fight if successful had words to share for UFC women Bantamweight champion Pena and former champion Nunes.
“I think that before the last fight, Julianna knew she could win, and those around her knew she could win,” Tate told MMA Junkie. “I think the only difference is this fight, is now Amanda knows that Julie can win. And the rest of the world knows that Julie can win. Otherwise, nothing changes.”
“I’m sure Amanda is going to try to prepare differently,” Tate said. “I would assume she’s going to prepare to be better, but sometimes that poison of the mind, just knowing someone like Julie is going to be standing across the octagon from you, is just not easy to deal with. There’s a lot of pressure right now on Amanda and there’s none on Julie. It’ll be fun to watch this fight and I know that she can get it done it again.”
Tate lost to Nunes in 2016 in her first title defense, this led to Nunes putting together a dominant reign across two divisions, Peña took her 135-pound belt with a second-round submission. The UFC booked a rematch after the pair served as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, and the fight is approaching quickly.
Pena and Tate are friends and occasional training partners. She knows this matchup intimately, and though she may have some bias, she thinks there’s a key insight that’s hard to miss.
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