Joe Rogan has criticised MMA legend Amanda Nunes after the Brazilian lost the women’s bantamweight title to Julianna Peña at UFC 269.
Nunes is widely considered the greatest female UFC fighter of all time and is the first woman to become a two-division UFC champion. She is also the only fighter to defend two UFC titles while holding them simultaneously.
The 33-year-old had been on a run of 12 consecutive victories in the UFC prior to Saturday’s contest but was submitted via a rear-naked choke.
While Nunes delivered some huge shots in the opening exchanges, Peña hung in there and turned the fight into a slugfest.
And after surviving a number of powerful blows, Peña turned the tide in the second round and caused the Brazilian to tap out.
Rogan, who was at the fight cage-side, described the contest as “nuts” and said Nunes definitely underestimated her opponent.
“The thing is, one thing I did say leading up to the fight, as they were getting ready, you have to think of all the times where someone has underestimated someone,” Rogan said on his podcast.
“You can never underestimate an opponent. You can’t go into a fight not nervous. You can’t go into a fight completely sure you’re gonna win when that other person is hungry and scared, because weird things happen when people underestimate people. But f**k, that was nuts.”
The UFC commentator also stressed that Nunes tried too hard to finish the fight quickly, which eventually proved to be her downfall.
“She was swinging for the fences. She was trying to take her out quick and then when Julianna was still there, you could tell she was f**king tired.
“For you to be a world champion in two divisions and universally recognized as the greatest woman fighter of all time, which Amanda [Nunes] is, it’s inexcusable to be that tired in the second round.
“And just standing in front of her, just swinging in front of her, no movement side to side, standing right in front of her like you’re watching a regional fight.”
UFC President Dana White has confirmed Nunes will be offered a rematch and the 33-year-old said she’d “undoubtedly” accept any chance to win the title back.
"Give me a little time to get my s**t together and I will be back better than ever,” she said on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Peña has also agreed to a second contest and says it’s the only fight which is right for her.
She stated: "Amanda is the only matchup I think that makes sense for me and giving her that rematch.”