Amanda Nunes reveals doctor warned her NOT to fight Julianna Pena
Amanda Nunes reveals doctor warned her NOT to fight Julianna Pena before huge UFC 269 upset defeat and admits it was a ‘dumb decision’ to take on challenge without being fully fit
- Amanda Nunes suffered one of the biggest upset defeats in UFC history
- Julianna Pena shocked the world by beating Nunes at UFC 269 last year
- Brazilian has now revealed that she was told by a doctor not to compete
- She ignored his advice out of fear of cancelling the bout for a second time
Amanda Nunes has revealed a her doctor warned her against fighting Julianna Pena before the huge upset at UFC 269.
Nunes was stunned by Pena, who stopped the woman regarded as the greatest female MMA fighter of all time.
Speculation was rife as to what might have caused such a lacklustre performances from the Brazilian and she has now detailed issues from her training camp.
Amanda Nunes suffered a shock defeat by Julianna Pena at UFC 269 last year
Nunes and Pena will rematch after they lock horns as the new coaches on The Ultimate Fighter
‘I thought it wouldn’t look good if I let that fight fall through one more time’, she said at a recent press conference.
‘So I put what I was [dealing with] aside, but I didn’t have a very good camp, that was the honest thing. I tried putting into my head that I was ready, I was 100 percent, but I was lying to myself.
‘That is exactly what I was [doing]. But as a fighter, as a warrior, I want to fight. I want to do that. I’m going to fight whatever, even if I have an injury. But at this level, you cannot do those stupid moves. So, I paid for it.
‘I was supposed to let the fight fall through, get 100% again, and fight Julianna,’ Nunes continued. ‘And I know Julianna is a very tough opponent. I know that [defeat] could have a chance at happening cause my timing was very off. I wasn’t even able to do sparring in my camp.’
She continued: ‘Unfortunately, sometimes we do dumb things, and especially at the level I’m at, we’re not supposed to do those things.
‘Sometimes I say, “Man, I really should’ve listened to my doctor.” He told me, “Let me handle it with the UFC, I’ll tell them exactly what you’re going through right now, and you have to have time to rest and recover. If you don’t, you’re not gonna perform as well.”
‘I was like, fighting with my doctor. I said, “You’re not gonna do that, you don’t have my permission to do that. I’m gonna fight.”
‘So, I went back to his office [after the fight] and he looked at me like, “I told you”. So now, after watching the fight as well, I had a hard time for a little bit watching the fight because I was like, “Man, I don’t know what happened.” Like, I kept lying to myself after the fight.’
Pena found plenty of success on the feet against Nunes before choking her out in the second round.
A summer rematch is in the pipeline in what has the makings of the biggest fight in women’s MMA history after they square off as coaches in The Ultimate Fighter.
Pena (top) managed to submit Nunes (bottom) after executing a choke in the second round
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article