In a candid interview, Julianna Pena, the newly crowned UFC women’s bantamweight champion, has made explosive claims about former champion Amanda Nunes and potential challenger Kayla Harrison.
Pena accused Nunes of retiring prematurely to avoid a trilogy and suggested the Brazilian may be using PEDs. “She wanted to retire so she could get on those ‘roids and not get caught,” Pena alleged, pointing to Nunes’ physique in recent social media posts.
The champion also expressed openness to facing Kayla Harrison, the former PFL star who recently made her UFC debut. However, Pena emphasized that a trilogy bout with Nunes remains her priority, calling it “the biggest fight you can make.”
Pena didn’t mince words about Harrison, referring to her as a “clown” and questioning her ability to make the bantamweight limit and fight for five rounds. She stated, “I am not afraid of you. You are not some boogeyman who can’t be beat.”
Regarding her recent title victory over Raquel Pennington, Pena defended her performance against critics, insisting she won four out of five rounds. She expressed frustration with the commentary team and media scoring, urging people to rewatch without bias.
Pena is upset with the media and commentators, feeling they were biased against her
She believes she clearly won rounds 1-3 and 5, only conceding round 4 to Pennington.
“When you throw less and land more, when you’re giving the other girl a bloody nose and a goose egg on her head, when you’re taking her down…you can’t tell that I lost the fight,” Pena stated.
The champion took particular issue with commentary focused on her not training at elevation, feeling commentators were fixated on that narrative. She urged fans to “rewatch the fight without all of the commentary bias” to see that she won.
Pena singled out Joe Rogan, saying she felt “heartbroken” seeing his reaction to the decision. She also expressed disappointment in Daniel Cormier and other commentators she considered friends for “trashing” her performance on air.
While acknowledging she may have played it safe due to elevation concerns, Pena defended her strategy of trying to outstrike Pennington rather than rely on takedowns. She maintains her strikes were more significant and damaging throughout the fight.
