I saw clips earlier but didn’t see the full fight until released. Nunes wins r1 with the grappling although not super dominant or anything. By the beginning of R2, she already looks gassed and R1 went down at a moderate pace.
Yes Pena did seem to stick the jab and have some straight counters to fluster Nunes’ attacks but even those wouldn’t seem like they would have bothered the “old Nunes.” Peña did hold her ground and came to fight but still didn’t see how the “old Nunes” wouldn’t roll thru that. Esp a Peña that was submitted by kickboxer Germaine de Randemie 2 fights earlier?
What gives? Was it Covid recovery? Was Nunes checked out? Nunes, the bjj bb, did tap out to the choke without Peña even having hooks.
I rewatched the whole fight last night. It was definitely a weird fight. I’m not suggesting shenanigans. But it was weird. The fight and finish was very unusual.
It was a very bizarre fight. I think Jack Slack called it drunken wine mom boxing.
Nunes knock was always her cardio, but it looked like she had zero in that fight. Also maybe because she was trying to brawl it out, but looked like her striking regressed. Germain would have racked them both fighting like that.
I dont think Nunes was mentally and physically prepared for a dog fight. And Pena brought that.
And also, this mightve always been in her. She has always been kind of a bully. And when you bully her back she kind of crumbles. It wasnt noticeable when her skill and athleticism pushed her ahead of other female fighters. Valentina and GDR tried to out technique and out fight her. But apparently the key was just standing your ground and out hossing her.
Nunes looked done before it turned into the dog fight. She outbrawls Cyborg but gets outbrawled by Peña? Peña’s striking flusters her but GDR’s doesn’t?
That was the knock before before she went 5 rounds a couple of times I believe with GDR and someone else? Maybe not the greatest cardio now but definitely improved and it’s not like the fight was at a frantic pace until the end and Nunes looked spent before it got there.
We also saw Glover a high level bjj guy and proven warrior tap out without hooks but that was the 5th round in a true war. Nunes did looked like she was done. It the weird thing was that she looked that way from the start of r2 before she took any real shots and before the pace picked up.
Cyborg crumpled, Pena didnt. GDR has the best womens striking but wrestling was an easy path for Nunes to bully her. Its not an easy path with Pena.
Like I said from the start, I dont think that Nunes was physically and mentally prepared for this fight to be a war. And that made her breaking point come a lot sooner.
It was a very disappointing performance and was worse than anything we have seen out of Nunes in years. And it wasn’t like Pena posed much more problems than the run of opponents Nunes smashed including people that bested Pena.
Amanda did test positive for Covid in the training camp for this fight and that could have affected her cardio drop. But either way it was an extremely disappointing and lower level performance than we are used to seeing from her. I’d love to hear her full take on it.
Cyborg didnt crumple mentally though, she got KTFO when they both threw down. Interested to see how Nunes looks this time. The way Peña was striking looked like easy pickings for a Nunes KO….