Their first encounter resulted in one of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. No one knows what to expect from the sequel.
Julianna Pena will defend the undisputed women’s bantamweight crown against Amanda Nunes when their rematch headlines UFC 277 on Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Pena stunned the mixed martial arts world in December, when she submitted the “Lioness” with a second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 269 and handed the Brazilian her first loss in more than seven years. She overwhelmed and ultimately wore down Nunes with volume punching—Pena piled up a 76-49 advantage in significant strikes—before closing the deal in decisive fashion.
As Pena and Nunes approach their second showdown with one another, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
32: Years of age for Pena, who was born on Aug. 19, 1989 in Spokane, Washington.
5: Pena victories by submission, accounting for 46% of her career total (11). Her methods of choice: three rear-naked chokes, one guillotine choke and one armbar. Pena holds three other victories by knockout or technical knockout (27%) and three more by decision (27%).
178: Seconds needed for Pena to put away Raylene Harvey with a rear-naked choke in her professional debut under the ExciteFight banner on May 9, 2009. Having occurred more than 13 years ago, it remains her fastest finish to date.
834: Total strikes landed by Pena as a UFC women’s bantamweight, placing her sixth on the promotion’s all-time list at 135 pounds. Only Raquel Pennington (1,206), Alexis Davis (1,000), Irene Aldana (903), Bethe Correia (891) and Marion Reneau (849) have connected with more.
.699: Cumulative winning percentage between the four opponents—Germaine de Randamie, Valentina Shevchenko, DeAnna Bennett and Sarah Moras—who have defeated Pena. They boast a combined record of 51-21-1.
34: Years of age for Nunes, who was born in Pojuca, Brazil, on May 30, 1988.
13: Nunes wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 62% of her career total (21). Her list of victims includes Holly Holm, Cristiane Justino, Ronda Rousey and Julia Budd. Nunes owns four other wins by submission (19%) and four more by decision (19%).
1,981: Days spent by Nunes undisputed UFC women’s bantamweight champion. She laid claim to the throne with a rear-naked choke submission of Miesha Tate at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016 and made five successful title defenses before surrendering it to Pena. It ranks as the fourth-longest single reign in the history of the promotion behind Anderson Silva (2,457), Demetrious Johnson (2,142) and Georges St. Pierre (2,064).
250,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Nunes across her 16 appearances in the UFC. She has been awarded “Performance of the Night” on five different occasions.
61: Combined victories between the five opponents—Pena, Davis, Cat Zingano, Sarah D’Alelio and Ana Maria—who have beaten Nunes. They sport a cumulative .663 winning percentage (61-31).
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