Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes to serve as TUF 30 coaches, rematch set for after season

Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes will be coaching the newest of The Ultimate Fighter.

TUF 30 will start filming in February and Pena and Nunes will serve as the coaches. The news of the two being the coaches was first reported by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. Pena also confirmed the news on an appearance Friday on Ellen.

“I was the first (woman) to (win) on that show, ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ I won the whole season,” Pena said (via MMAJunkie). “I’m going to now be giving back to these young fighters. I am going to be the coach on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ for this next season coming up. Amanda will be coaching alongside me. So it will be me and Amanda’s teams. It’ll be my team vs. Amanda’s team and then at the end of the season, we’re going to rematch.”

TUF 30 will see women’s flyweights and men’s heavyweights with each Pena and Nunes coaching four fighters in each weight class. Contestants and alternates already are in Las Vegas with medicals and COVID-19 testing underway. Filming is expected to begin mid-February. The season’s roster has not been publicly released.

Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes fought back at UFC 269 for the bantamweight title where the “Venezuelan Vixen ” pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. After a tough first round, Pena came back strong and started to piece up Nunes in the second round and eventually found the submission win to become the new bantamweight champion.

With Pena and Nunes serving as coaches, the two will rematch for the bantamweight title at the conclusion of the show. It’s uncertain exactly when the show will air and finish so there is no timeframe on when the title fight will be.

Both Pena and Nunes also haven’t said who they will have with them as coaches.

What do you make of Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes being TUF 30 coaches?