Julianna Pena's daughter steals the show in face-off with UFC rival Amanda Nunes

Julianna Pena drafted in back-up for her face-off with Amanda Nunes in the shape of her four-year-old daughter Isabella.

Pena will put her bantamweight world title on the line in Dallas tonight when she takes on Nunes for the second time at UFC 277. The rivals first met last December when Pena upset the odds to hand Nunes her first defeat since 2014.

Nunes, who still holds the featherweight world title, will attempt to exact revenge tonight and reinstate herself as a double champion. But she was faced by a mother-daughter combination at the ceremonial weigh-ins last night when Isabella stood behind her champion and posed in the traditional style.

Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes of Brazil face off (Zuffa LLC)

The pair had traded verbal jabs earlier in the week when Pena vowed to do whatever it takes to regain her belt. "I'm going to punch, kick, pull her hair, I'm going to bite her, I'm going to gouge her eyeballs out if I have to," she said. "I'm literally going to do everything in there. Trust me when I say I am ready and willing to die, whatever it takes. I am going to do whatever it takes."

Nunes responded by promising to right the wrongs of their previous meeting. "I will be there, ready. To be even better than her, you know," she said. "She's really going to face a lion she didn't see the last time. There's only one lion in the jungle, that's me."

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Pena had won only two of her last four fights when she took on Nunes in Las Vegas before Christmas. But she stunned the champion by submitting her via rear-naked choke in the second round.

And she added: "At the end of the day, Amanda and I are the two best fighters in the world. You’re literally getting the two best fighters in the world that are going to collide on Saturday night.

"I can’t tell you that I’m going to pull a rabbit out of the hat. I can just tell you that I’m going to stand there toe to toe with the best in the world, and I’m going to give my best, and we’re going to see whose ovaries are bigger. I’m willing to bet that that’s me."