Stealing a close-knit decision win against her friend turned rival, Raquel Pennington, Julianna Pena re-claimed the women’s bantamweight title in a grudge match at UFC 307. With the belt wrapped around her waist, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ called out Amanda Nunes for a super fight, denying Kayla Harrison a shot at the title.
When asked about a potential matchup with the former PFL champion, Pena shrugged it off, saying,
“What I really like is for Amanda Nunes to quit ducking and come back inside this octagon and let’s settle it. We’re 1-1, that’d be the greatest fight in mixed martial arts history at the bantamweight division that the sport has ever seen. I do not believe that she’s done being retired, I want to see her back inside the octagon so that we can settle the scores.”
Of course, Harrison saw the footage, and a video of her reacting to it has also been made available where the two-time Olympic gold medalist just laughs at Pena calling out a retired Nunes instead of fighting the challenge in front of her.
😂 Kayla Harrison reacts to Julianna Pena ignoring her and calling out Amanda Nunes. pic.twitter.com/73iEx6PSjS
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 6, 2024
Earlier, the tension between them flared up at the UFC 307 presser after the judoka clarified that she plans to dominate the bantamweight division. Harrison threw some shade at the champion, downplaying her UFC experience by highlighting her own 17-1 record against Pena’s 10-5 resume.
Now, with the 35-year-old capturing the belt, Pena is the fight Harrison yearns for but unfortunately, the new champ wants to settle the scores with ‘The Lioness’ Amanda Nunes.
Deep Diver: Pena’s controversial SD win
For some, this is a moment of joy, seeing their favorite fighter, Julianna Pena reclaim the belt but for others’ the win was nothing but a highway robbery. In fact, Pena failed to do anything significant except for about a minute when she caught the former champion trapped in a vicious rear naked choke.
However, Pennington survived the ordeal and came right back in the last round, piecing up the challenger. Furthermore, she even dropped Pena with a cracking shot.
On top of that, Pennington was clearly leading the opening rounds with precise jabs and timely right hands.
Now, Pena did use her grappling to wear out her former teammate. But despite her efforts, the former champion showed her heart, stinging Pena with sharp punches till the end of the bell in the final round.
Even Daniel Cormier from the commentary booth thought Pennington had done enough to retain her belt until the judges gave the win to Pena – 48-47, 47-48, 48-47. Interestingly, Pena looked off, with her head slouched forward before Buffer announced the winner.
