By: Julio Olmo

UFC^® RETURN TO SALT LAKE CITY HEADLINED BY

WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH BETWEEN

(C) KAMARU USMAN AND (#2) LEON EDWARDS

PIVOTAL BANTAMWEIGHT CONTENDERS’ BOUT BETWEEN

(#5) MARLON VERA AND (#8) DOMINICK CRUZ

HEADLINES UFC^® RETURN TO SAN DIEGO

https://twitter.com/gpcombat/status/1558833698820292608?s=20&t=SiJdcHXDJd4Lc9MZjroQYw

Nunes beats Peña to regain UFC women’s bantamweight belt

#ANDNEW 🏆🏆

Amanda Nunes is once again the double CHAMP! #UFC277 pic.twitter.com/USOy7gyAaF

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) July 31, 2022

Ultimate Fighting Championship News:

A sizzling summer gets even hotter with a championship doubleheader.

In the main event, Julianna Peña attempts to defend her UFC bantamweight championship for the first time against the woman she took the belt from, all-time great Amanda Nunes.

In another rematch with gold on the line, Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France battle for the interim UFC flyweight title.

UFC 277 will be headlined by this women’s bantamweight rematch between newly-crowned 135-pound champion Julianna Pena and former division titleholder Amanda Nunes.

Prior to that five-round showdown, Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France will hook ‘em up for the interim flyweight title while current champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, irons out his wrinkles with the UFC brass (or bails on the division and moves to bantamweight).

Julianna Peña stunned pretty much everyone but herself when she took the bantamweight title from two-division champion Amanda Nunes in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

“I’m the champion of the world. This is what I wanted,” Peña said. “Now there’s nothing left to do but the job itself. And that’s let people know who I am. This is my opportunity to show people who I am and kind of let them get to know me.”

Her first defense of the title in the 135-pound division will be a rematch against Nunes at UFC 277 on Saturday night, and the former bantamweight champion wants back the belt that she had held more than five years before her 12-fight winning streak was snapped last December.

Nunes (21-5) said she wasn’t properly prepared for that fight at UFC 269 because of knee issues that affected her cardio training.

While Nunes didn’t want to delay again after being forced to withdraw from a scheduled August bout because of a positive COVID-19 test, she also thought she was ready. But she got hurt and tired in the second round, then tapped out when unable to escape a rear naked choke.

“It was the challenge that I needed,” Nunes said. “I went without a challenge for so long, now I’m finally like getting into the position that I like to feel a threat. These are the moments that I shine in the most.”

UFC 277 Specials

The sportsbook still sides with former champion Amanda Nunes against new UFC women's bantamweight champion Julianna Peña 💥#UFC #UFC277 #GamblingTwitter https://t.co/wUVltcjPPh

— BetUS Sportsbook & Casino (@BetUS_Official) July 27, 2022