Morning Report: Julianna Peña says Amanda Nunes will 'stay retired' after she beats Kayla Harrison at UFC 316

05/07/2025 08:00 AM

Julianna Peña says Amanda Nunes won't come back to MMA after the beating she puts on Kayla Harrison.

Next month, Peña defends her women's bantamweight title against Harrison in the co-main event of UFC 316. But the bout is for more than just the women's bantamweight title, it's also for a crack at women's MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes. Last month, Nunes revealed she intends to return to the UFC after her two-year retirement from the sport, to face the winner of Peña vs. Harrison. It's a comeback Peña says she always knew was coming.

"I was always expecting it," Peña told Ariel Helwani. "I literally said it. I went over there to Vancouver, watched her lay down her gloves, and told everybody what a liar she was and booed her the entire time because I knew that she wasn't going to be fully retired.

"That's the thing, I hate this whole, 'I'm retiring. I'm done.' If you're going to retire, stay retired. I don't understand why fighters always retire and then come back. What is the point? Somebody hand this girl the Oscar because she had everybody like, 'It's over.' I'm like, 'No, it's not. She's way too young, she's not going to be done, she doesn't know what her life is outside of fighting, and she's going to get bored and she's going to want to come back and fight again.' Now that the limelight is not on her, and it's on Kayla and I, she sees that. I know that she's itching and scratching to get back in there."

Nunes retired following her UFC 289 title defense over Irene Aldana. But after Harrison signed with the UFC in 2024, rumors began surfacing that Nunes might be interested in a comeback to face Harrison. The two were heavily rumored to be planning a fight against each other back in 2021, until Peña upset Nunes at UFC 269, sending Harrison back to the PFL. And Peña plans to ruin those plans yet again, this time by beating Harrison.

"So she's in for a long night at the office," Peña said. "And not only that, but take into consideration her first fight at 135 pounds, going 25 minutes. It's going to be very grueling and taxing, and at this point, it's like, how are you going to win? You might be able to lay on top of me for one round, maybe, but after that? Every minute that the fight goes on, the longer that the fight goes on is just better for me. I got the gas tank, I got the cardio."

And if Peña does win? "The Venezuelan Vixen" has not been shy about wanting a trilogy fight with Nunes, but she's not sure that will happen if she plays spoiler once again.

"It was told to me, 'Amanda wants nothing to do with you,'" Peña said. "'She wants absolutely nothing to do with you. She hates Kayla. She feels like she has nothing to prove against you, and that she hates Kayla more than she feels like she wants to fight you. So if she comes back, it's to fight Kayla only.' When she sees that chaotic mess that she's going to see on June 7, she's not going to want to get back in there again and do it all over again. She'll probably stay 'retired.' But we'll see."

UFC 316 takes place on June 17 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Khaos Williams (15-4) vs. Uros Medic (10-3); UFC 316, June 7.

Viviane Araujo (13-6) vs. Tracy Cortez (11-2); UFC 317, June 28.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While I'm not a big Julianna Peña fan, I do appreciate that she has enough self-awareness to understand she doesn't win fights on style points. "Look, I won't beat you by technical skills, but I will make this ugly and sloppy and drag you down into the muck with me. I'm gonna sludge you. That's how I win." Peña is truly the Iowa football of MMA.

EXIT POLL

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