Julianna Peña is aware of the naysayers in regards to getting a title shot coming off of a loss, along with a two-plus year layoff.
The former champion returns to the octagon this Saturday to face Raquel Pennington for the women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. Peña sees how a lot of the MMA community believes that not only should she not get the title shot, but Kayla Harrison should be the one challenging Pennington this weekend after her UFC 300 finish of Holly Holm.
As expected, “The Venezuelan Vixen” does not agree.
“I think that not only is it unfair for somebody to beat a 45-year-old and get one win and be able to fight for the title, and just kind of jump the line ahead of all these other girls that have been in the division for a long time, but also, there hasn’t been anybody else that was ever able to stop Amanda Nunes [at UFC 269] in the dominant fashion that I was able to do,” Peña told MMA Fighting.
“Even Raquel herself, [wanted to] quit on the stool. ... I think that for me, I stopped and slayed the GOAT that no one was able to beat in over seven years — and I think that in and of itself has kind of earned me the opportunity to say that I’m gonna be fighting for the belt, regardless of the layoff.”
In her most recent outing, Peña faced Nunes in a rematch at UFC 277 in July 2022. Nunes swept all three of the judges’ scorecards — even putting up a 50-43 — to regain the title. The trilogy fight was on the books for UFC 289 in June 2023, but an injury forced Peña out of the bout, which led to Nunes facing Irene Aldana, and winning — what would end up being — her retirement fight via unanimous decision.
Peña says the second fight between her and Nunes paints a different picture than the scorecards suggest, which only helps her case for getting the title shot against her former cast mate on The Ultimate Fighter.
“Sure on the scorecards I lost, but if you go back and watch that fight, I had a very deep armbar where that fight could have been finished in the fourth round,” Peña said. “I had a mere flesh wound cut on my face and, yeah, absolutely, I got dropped several times, but I was never knocked out. I got back up every single time, and at the end of the day, Amanda could not finish me. She could not knock me out. She walked out of there in crutches, in a wheelchair, and half of her face swollen shut like she had elephantiasis, and no one has been able to do that to her except me.
“So I think that with that being said, it’s kind of like one of these things, like, did you beat me? Yeah, you might have beat me on the scorecards, but if we got locked inside of a room and they only said that one of us could come out, I’m willing to bet that that would have been me, because I know that I’m a great warrior and that I’m literally gonna give hell, or die trying. And I was clutching onto that thing as hard as I could, in my defense, and I wasn’t able to get the job done, but I don’t feel defeated. It went to a decision and, aside from it being bloody and having a little cut, I never stopped. And I never will.”
As for Harrison, she won’t be challenging for the title, but she will be competing at UFC 307 when she faces Ketlen Vieira. While Peña, in other interviews, says she may be able to lure Nunes back from retirement for a trilogy fight, she understands the reality of the situation more than likely comes down to the Harrison vs. Vieira result — especially if Harrison wins.
Peña is warning Harrison to keep her eye on the prize.
“The UFC is very strategic in what they want to do and what they have to do, and I guarantee you, told them that the winner of that fight will face me in in the next title challenge,” Peña explained. “So, yes, that’s exactly right that whoever wins out of there will be fighting for the belt.
“All I know for a fact is that [Kayla] should quit saying my name and focus on the girl that she has to fight in front of her — because Ketlen ain’t no slouch.”
