Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena: Pena will make it to the second round

On December 12, UFC 269 will take place in Las Vegas. In the co-main event of the evening, Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena will fight for the women's featherweight title.

Amanda Nunes is the reigning champion, while Julianna Pena is the third-ranked contender.

Amanda doesn't need much introduction. She's already beaten everyone and fights more for her pleasure and fee. The fight with Valentina Shevchenko is a huge risk, but with Juliana Pena, you can safely go out, calmly win and rest.

Nunes considers herself the best in history, and it must be said, she has every reason to do so. And a lot of experts think so too.

Yes, that's for sure. I'm the greatest of all time. I beat the most dominant female fighter on the planet. I feel like I deserve it now. A lot of people are talking about it. Everyone is sending me messages, lots of letters. Everyone is telling me now that I am the greatest. I believe them, and now I'm saying I deserve that title. I've proved it.

Amanda Nunes

Pena alternates between wins and losses - losing to elite fighters (Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie) and winning to easier fighters. In her last fight, she smothered Sara McMann (12-6) in the third round.

Of course, you can't win against Nunes, but you have to make the most out of the confrontation. Such a chance. That's why Julianna decided to make some noise, draw even more attention to the fight, get her opponent nervous, try to piss her off, and take her out of her psychological equilibrium. According to her words, she was in the American Top Team, where the champion now trains, and the coach himself, in the person of Dan Lambert, convinced her that all the girls in their club use steroids. Frankly, looking at Amanda (especially in the off-season), it's easy to believe this.

Right after I won The Ultimate Fighter, I was invited to the gym, and I happened to witness all the girls we were training with sitting in the locker room injecting themselves. It was such a period because the USADA did not take control of all these things at that time. My head coach, Dan Lambert, came out to me and openly stated that it was now my sparring partners, giving each other shots in the locker room.

Julianna Pena

The intrigue in this fight is pretty much just one thing - whether or not Julianna Pena will make it to the second round. I think she will.

Analysts are giving a pretty decent odds of 1.87 on such an outcome.

Do you want an argument? Chael Sonnen can prove it.

Amanda Nunez is gearing up for the most likely upset of her career, but I feel most disagree with me. I'm not predicting that Julianna will beat Amanda, but I am saying it will be one of the toughest tests of her career. Pena is a stylistic disaster for Nunez. I am stating that Julianna Pena is the biggest threat Amanda has ever faced.

Chael Sonnen