It’s not that Nunes is dismissive of Pena’s talents or questions her will — she knows the Spokane, Washington native is skilled and driven, fully confident in everything she says and the approach she’s put together heading into Saturday night’s contest; it’s just that Nunes has heard it all before.
“Every fight is a different challenge, and Julianna Pena is very different,” began Nunes. “At the same time, if you look back to my opponents, she’s a different person, but with the same thoughts as all the losers.
“The thoughts she has right now, her best friend had when I beat her and choked her out,” continued Nunes, who won the title by submitting Pena’s longtime friend Miesha Tate at UFC 200. “She has the same mindset as Miesha, the same mindset as all the opponents that I’ve beaten (since winning the belt).
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Just as she will continue to be protective of her daughter over the years, Nunes feels similarly protective of her twin UFC titles, and isn’t close to ready to allow someone else to take them home.
“I’m sorry — I know everybody wants (the belt), but it’s not the time for anybody else. The era, the moment is not for her.
“I still want the belt! Nobody is going to take it,” she continued, laughing. “When I feel like I don’t want to defend it anymore, okay, but I still have the fire, I still have the desire to have (the belt); I still love her. As a mother now, I feel like I’m protecting the belt the same way, with everything that I have. Nothing has changed since the first day I got my hands on this belt.