5 of the biggest upsets in UFC history
1. Julianna Pena def. Amanda Nunes - UFC 269
Julianna Pena entered her UFC 269 title fight to Puddle of Mudd's "Psycho." And in a way, it was kind of fitting. Anyone who entered a fight with the seemingly unbeatable Amanda Nunes with the kind of confidence that she did could be deemed as such.
Pena didn't have the greatest of track records entering into the fight. A winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 18, Pena won four straight in the Octagon before a loss to Valentina Shevchenko. She then didn't compete for two-and-a-half years before a win over Nicco Montano in July 2019. Her next fight didn't come until October 2020, when she lost to Germaine de Randamie. A win over Sara McCann a few months later was the win that she entered this fight with Nunes off of.
Nunes had tasted defeat in the UFC before, losing to Cat Zingano at UFC 178. But that had been the last time she lost. Ever since then, Nunes had run through everyone while winning UFC gold at bantamweight and featherweight. Her resume included wins over McMann, Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Rauqel Pennington, Cristiane Justino (aka Cris Cyborg), Holly Holm and de Randamie.
The expectation was that Nunes would continue to wind down her career in dominant fashion against Pena. But every dog has his or her day — and on this day, Pena was quite the dog in more ways than one.
Despite entering a 6.5-to-1 underdog, Pena brought the fight to Nunes, as the two traded away during the opening round. Pena's strategy, as we'd later find out, was to tire out Nunes, and she succeeded in such. Pena connected with her striking time after time in the second round before locking in a choke that secured the tapout victory and certifying a result that still — even to this day — doesn't feel real.
Nunes would dominate Pena in their rematch at UFC 277 before retiring with a win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289. Maybe Pena lost popularity after being dominated and complaining openly about Nunes's retirement, but no one can take her moment away.
And even if she manages to become champion once again, no later possible title win for her will ever come close to the shock, elation, heartbreak and panemonium that resulted after her win that December 2021 evening in Las Vegas.
Next. Top 10 knockouts that ended a UFC career. dark