Double UFC champion Amanda Nunes refused to defend her bantamweight championship against the fifth-ranked Irene Aldana in the division.
According to the promotion plan, the women’s title fight was supposed to take place on March 4 at UFC 285 in Las Vegas, which some sources were quick to report, however, the Brazilian demanded to organize a contender’s fight between Aldana and Julianna Peña, which would determine her next opponent. An obstacle in organizing a Candidates match is that Julianne Peña flatly refuses to fight unless a championship belt is at stake.
In December 2021, Julianna Peña made one of the biggest upsets in the history of mixed martial arts, finishing Amanda Nunes with a rear naked choke in the second round, but in July last year, the Brazilian regained her bantamweight championship belt, winning a unanimous decision after five rounds.
Irene Aldana is on a two stoppage streak, finishing with knockouts to Yana Kunitskaya and Maisie Chiasson.
Recall that in the framework of the UFC 285 tournament, Valentina Shevchenko will defend the flyweight title again, and according to rumors, the strongest league in the world tried to simultaneously hold two women’s title fights in order to organize a third fight between Bullet and Lioness as the next step.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/30616-amanda-nunes-otkazalas-zashchishchat-titul-ufc-v-legchajshem-vese.html?rand=19907
