Bantamweight fighter Julianna Pena becomes a two-time champion after defeating Raquel Pennington in the UFC 307 co-main event.
Both opponents opened the round with an exchange of jabs, but Pennington landed more accurate strikes. Pennington clinched up with Pena but was thrown with a body lock takedown. Pena unleashed a flurry of elbows while staying on top of Pennington, who struggled to keep her defences up. “Rocky” attempted to get back on her feet, but Pena got on her back and couldn’t land any punch till the round came to a close.
Pena came in with a stiff punch and a one-two combo that rocked “Rocky” in round two. She followed with an uppercut and a takedown that left Pennington scrambling to her feet, but Pena locked her in a body triangle. She began landing savage punches before going in for a choke, but Pennington pulled through the round.
As the fight moved on, both opponents continued to land brutal strikes. Pennington finally came alive, scoring vicious head kicks and a huge right hand that dropped Pena. Pena responded with a well-timed overhand and got her head back into the game. The fight ended with a split decision win for Pena, who was exhilarated and called out her retired rival for a rematch.
“What I’d really like is for Amanda Nunes to quit ducking and come back inside this octagon and let’s settle it,” Peña shouted. “We’re 1-1, that would be the greatest fight in mixed martial arts history in the bantamweight division this sport has ever seen. I do not believe that she’s done being retired. I want to see her back inside the octagon so we can settle the score once and for all.”
The win was controversial as many had zero faith in the fighter. Pena has had naysayers prior to the fight and still does even after winning the bout. Many believe she did not put in enough effort to earn this victory.
“I wasn’t sure,” Peña responded when asked if she thought she had done enough to earn the victory. “I heard these judges tonight were doing some crazy stuff. It’s unfortunate I went to a decision. Just a loss of focus, and that’s what I would say, I got dropped. Definitely need to be a little bit more focused.”
“I felt like I won that fight,” Pennington said. “I felt like I was landing more strikes and then dropping her. And, I was pressuring her the entire time in the fifth. It was my fault for letting it go to the judges. Back to the drawing board. Congratulations to Julianna. Good luck to everybody hearing her yap now.”
Although “The Venezuelan Vixen” has recaptured the bantamweight title, her beef with Harrison remains. Kayla Harrison delivered an impressive performance as she defeated PFL star Ketlen Viera via unanimous decision at the UFC 307 tournament. Despite her MMA record and recent win, Pena still does not believe she is a worthy opponent.
“We’re not impressed,” Peña said of Harrison. “She said she was going to put an elbow through her skull and do all this damage. [Vieira] didn’t have a scratch on her. It was boring, and she didn’t do anything that jumped off the page like, ‘Oooh, The Boogeyman.’ You know what I mean? So I was definitely—especially with hearing from my team—not impressed.”
“I definitely think that at some point or another, like Ronda, when you figure out the one-trick pony of being able to stuff a takedown. You realize that the fight is more competitive and more even than people want to give it credit for.” Peña said. “So I think once you stuff the takedown, you realize that you’re actually in a tougher fight than you thought you were. And I think that that’s kind of what played into her head tonight.”
Pena has her eyes set on retired champion Amanda Nunes, as she was the only one who ever defeated the champion. Pena was scheduled for a trilogy fight with Nunes in 2023 but withdrew due to a rib injury. Now, she is intent on having that rematch despite her opponent being retired.
“At the end of the day, when I saw Amanda retire that day in Canada, I was sitting cageside, and I was booing, and it was because I didn’t believe that she was truly done,” Peña said. “Then you hear Dana White saying, ‘I think she retired too early.’ Then you watch her, and I feel like she’s just twiddling her thumbs, wondering, ‘What is my identity? What am I doing? I’m bored. Who am I if I’m not fighting in the UFC?’ So there’s an air that I feel that she feels like she misses the sport, that she’s looking to find something that’s going to make her want to come back.
“Kayla never mentioned her name when she beat Holly Holm, and she sure is not mentioning her name now. None of the other girls were mentioning Amanda’s name that they considered the greatest of all-time, yet I was. And I never shied away from that, and I still am because I truly do not believe that she’s done. I think she retired too early. I think that she’s looking for something to do and that for me is the biggest fight in women’s mixed martial arts history because we’re 1-1. My fight against her the first time was so dominant I made her tap; our second fight, I ran out of time. I lost a decision handily, fine, no problem. But it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all, and get that trilogy fight that I feel that she ran away from.”
As eager as Pena is to fight Nunes, there is no certainty that the fighter will come out of retirement to face her. So, as an alternative option, Pena is willing to welcome Harrison’s fight.
“If Amanda cowers away again, and does not come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right. Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention to the sport, and I actually love that,” Peña said.
