Julianna Peña is conscious of the naysayers with reference to getting a title shot coming off of a loss, together with a two-plus yr layoff.
The previous champion returns to the octagon this Saturday to face Raquel Pennington for the ladies’s bantamweight title within the co-main occasion of UFC 307 in Salt Lake Metropolis. Peña sees how loads of the MMA group believes that not solely ought to she not get the title shot, however Kayla Harrison ought to be the one difficult Pennington this weekend after her UFC 300 end of Holly Holm.
As anticipated, “The Venezuelan Vixen” doesn’t agree.
“I believe that not solely is it unfair for someone to beat a 45-year-old and get one win and be capable of combat for the title, and simply form of leap the road forward of all these different women which were within the division for a very long time, but additionally, there hasn’t been anyone else that was ever capable of cease Amanda Nunes [at UFC 269] within the dominant vogue that I used to be capable of do,” Peña informed MMA Preventing.
“Even Raquel herself, [wanted to] stop on the stool. … I believe that for me, I finished and slayed the GOAT that nobody was capable of beat in over seven years — and I believe that in and of itself has form of earned me the chance to say that I’m gonna be combating for the belt, whatever the layoff.”
In her most up-to-date outing, Peña confronted Nunes in a rematch at UFC 277 in July 2022. Nunes swept all three of the judges’ scorecards — even placing up a 50-43 — to regain the title. The trilogy combat was on the books for UFC 289 in June 2023, however an damage pressured Peña out of the bout, which led to Nunes going through Irene Aldana, and profitable — what would find yourself being — her retirement combat through unanimous choice.
Peña says the second combat between her and Nunes paints a special image than the scorecards counsel, which solely helps her case for getting the title shot towards her former forged mate on The Final Fighter.
“Positive on the scorecards I misplaced, however if you happen to return and watch that combat, I had a really deep armbar the place that combat might have been completed within the fourth spherical,” Peña mentioned. “I had a mere flesh wound lower on my face and, yeah, completely, I bought dropped a number of occasions, however I used to be by no means knocked out. I bought again up each single time, and on the finish of the day, Amanda couldn’t end me. She couldn’t 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 nobody has been ready to do this to her besides me.
“So I believe that with that being mentioned, it’s form of like one in every of this stuff, like, did you beat me? Yeah, you might need beat me on the scorecards, but when we bought locked inside a room they usually solely mentioned that one in every of us might come out, I’m prepared to guess that that might have been me, as a result of I do know that I’m an excellent warrior and that I’m actually gonna give hell, or die attempting. And I used to be clutching onto that factor as exhausting as I might, in my protection, and I wasn’t capable of get the job performed, however I don’t really feel defeated. It went to a choice and, except for it being bloody and having a bit of lower, I by no means stopped. And I by no means will.”
As for Harrison, she received’t be difficult for the title, however she might be competing at UFC 307 when she faces Ketlen Vieira. Whereas Peña, in different interviews, says she might be able to lure Nunes again from retirement for a trilogy combat, she understands the truth of the state of affairs greater than probably comes right down to the Harrison vs. Vieira consequence — particularly if Harrison wins.
Peña is warning Harrison to maintain her eye on the prize.
“The UFC may be very strategic in what they wish to do and what they need to do, and I assure you, informed them that the winner of that combat will face me in within the subsequent title problem,” Peña defined. “So, sure, that’s precisely proper that whoever wins out of there might be combating for the belt.
“All I do know for a truth is that [Kayla] ought to stop saying my identify and deal with the woman that she has to combat in entrance of her — as a result of Ketlen ain’t no slouch.”
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