Amanda Nunes will defend her bantamweight title against number one contender Julianna Pena at UFC 269 on December 11.
Nunes (21-4) was scheduled to face American Peña at the Toyota Center on August 7, but that was postponed after the Brazilian tested positive for coronavirus.
Nunes, 33, hasn't competed at 135 pounds since she defended her title against Germaine de Randamie in December 2019. Following that victory, Nunes subsequently returned to the featherweight division where she has reigned supreme since December 2018, registering wins over the likes of Megan Anderson and Felicia Spencer to retain her status as the UFC's only existing two-weight champion.
Pena (10-4) had vented her frustration at the cancellation at a news conference promoting UFC 265 in Houston, making reference to Nunes' newborn child with her wife Nina Nunes, née Ansaroff.
After speaking to an alleged insider at famed MMA gym American Top Team, Pena also claimed Nunes isn't taking her at all seriously.
“I heard from a teammate of hers that she hasn’t even been training,” said Pena. “Even when she was healthy and is healthy, she has barely been in the gym.
"So that part is frustrating for me because I have been making this fight my top priority.”
Pena added: “And I have been doing the mom thing, as well. You know, I do want to take this time to say that I understand her position. She is a new mother.
"She wants to enjoy that time with her baby, and she lacks a little bit of motivation to get up for a fight when she wants to hang out with her little newborn. I get that. I was in that same position.
"But if you’re not going to fight in December, it will be two years since she has defended the belt at 135 pounds. We’ve got to keep the train moving.
"Let’s get a girl in there that’s ready to rock, and we’ll fight for the interim belt, and when she’s ready to come back, she can come pry it out of my cold, dead fingers.”
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