Julianna Peña: Nunes Trilogy Ambition and Title Return
Julianna Peña’s summer 2024 plan was straightforward: regain the UFC women’s bantamweight title, then pursue a third fight with Amanda Nunes. Her comments came before she challenged Raquel Pennington, making the proposed trilogy an ambition rather than an announced bout. Peña subsequently recovered the championship at UFC 307, while her next title defense brought a different rival into the spotlight.
The rivalry that made a third fight appealing
Peña and Nunes split their first two meetings. At UFC 269 in December 2021, Peña submitted the champion in a major upset. Nunes won their July 2022 rematch at UFC 277 by unanimous decision, restoring her place at the top of the division.
Those contrasting results supplied the sporting argument for another meeting. Peña could point to a genuine victory over an exceptionally accomplished champion, while Nunes had answered it over five rounds. A third contest offered the possibility of resolving the rivalry, provided both athletes were available and the UFC arranged it.
Why the 2024 comments were conditional
Nunes retired after UFC 289 in June 2023. By the following summer, Pennington held the bantamweight belt, and Peña’s immediate goal was to face her. In her appearance on The MMA Hour, Peña discussed a Nunes callout as something she intended to make after regaining the championship.
That sequence matters. Wanting a fight and believing an opponent might return are different from having a signed matchup. Peña’s confidence reflected her competitive position and her frustration at an unfinished rivalry. It did not establish that Nunes had accepted a trilogy or that it would follow automatically from a title victory.
Kayla Harrison entered the same conversation
The discussion also involved Kayla Harrison, who had made a successful UFC debut against Holly Holm at UFC 300. Peña objected to the possibility of a newer arrival moving ahead of established bantamweight contenders. Harrison’s arrival nevertheless created another substantial sporting option for the division.
The competing claims illustrate how matchmaking works around a championship. A previous champion can argue for a return to the belt, an emerging contender can make a case through recent performances, and an established rivalry can attract commercial interest. None of those arguments replaces the need to win the fights already booked.
The championship results that followed
Peña achieved the first part of her plan on October 5, 2024, defeating Pennington by split decision at UFC 307. Two judges scored the bout 48–47 for Peña, while the third favored Pennington by the same margin. The result made Peña a two-time UFC bantamweight champion.
Her subsequent title defense was against Harrison at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025. Harrison won by kimura submission at 4:55 of the second round. Those results provide the concrete continuation of Peña’s 2024 comments: she regained the belt, then lost it to the contender who had already become part of the debate. The hoped-for Nunes trilogy remained a separate matchmaking question.
Sources
- MMA Fighting: Peña’s original interview
- UFC: the Nunes–Peña rivalry
- UFC: UFC 307 official result
- UFC: Harrison’s UFC 316 title victory
Sources: ufc.com; ufc.com; ufc.com
Tags
MMA, Combat Sports
