Just a week before her title defense bout against Juliana Pena at UFC 265, Amanda Nunes has tested positive for Covid-19, and as a result, the fight has been cancelled.
The co-main event of UFC 265 which was supposed to feature a fight between Amanda Nunes and Juliana Pena is now postponed as the Champ, Amanda Nunes (24-4-0) tested positive for Covid-19. Nunes currently holds the UFC Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight titles which she won on a 12-fight win streak, which is arguably one of the best win-streaks the sport has ever seen. In her impressive run, the Brazillian has scored memorable victories over fighters such as Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and two dominant victories over the current Women’s Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
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Juliana Pena (11-4-0) was a big underdog heading into UFC 265. The American Martial artist booked her title shot after a win over Sara McMann after her loss to the #1 contender in the Bantamweight division, Germaine De Randamie. Since the start of 2017, Pena holds a UFC record of 2 wins and 2 losses and also is the first woman to win the Ultimate Fighter.
With the fight now being scrapped at UFC 265, the card will now look to bump up a different fight to serve as the co-main event while an interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane headlines the event. As of now, it looks like the Bantamweight bout between Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz could step in to be featured as the co-main event of UFC 265.
As for the fight between Amanda Nunes and Juliana Pena, the UFC Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell said that the fight would be delayed until Nunes recovers and is ready to fight.
[Image Credit: Amanda Nunes]
Shashank Iyer