If Julianna Peña beats UFC champion Raquel Pennington, she'll have big plans.
“The Venezuelan Empress” hasn't competed in nearly two years. In July 2022, Julianna Peña faced Amanda Nunes just a few months after dealing “The Lioness” an upset loss. In the end, the rematch was a close one, with the Brazilian dominating, handing Peña a one-sided decision loss and bringing an end to her short title reign.
The two were scheduled to meet in a three-round bout last summer, but the fight was canceled. Juliana Peña was injured, and Amanda Nunes took on Irene Aldana instead. The champion dominated and ultimately lost a decision to the Mexican fighter, then retired. As a result, the women's bantamweight title became vacant.
Earlier this year, Raquel Pennington won the vacant title with a unanimous decision victory over Mayra Bueno Silva. There was talk of a matchup with Kayla Harrison, but now “Rocky” is expected to face Julianna Peña. As of now, no fight between the two has been officially announced, but there are rumors that the two could meet at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.
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Julianna Peña plans to request a fight between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey for the UFC title
If Julianna Peña reclaims her UFC title, she has big plans. MMA Hour During her match against Ariel Helwani earlier this week, she turned down a future title defense against Kayla Harrison, with Peña instead hoping for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes and a highly anticipated matchup with Ronda Rousey.
“I still get the Spider-Man senses and everything. She [Nunes] They will be back,” Julianna Pena said. MMA Hour “It's just a matter of time before she returns,” she said earlier this week about her UFC return. [But] I don't want to get it wrong. I want to fight Raquel and get the belt back. After that, I'll definitely call out Amanda. It's too big a fight for her, and I believe she'll come back. Of course. [I’ll call out Nunes].”
She continued, “If I win the belt, I should give a shout out to Ronda.” [Rousey]Ronda has been running away from this fight with me for years… I want big fights, I want big money fights. Of course. [the trilogy is massive]1-1. Unfinished business.”
What do you think about these comments from Julianna Peña and do you think she will become UFC champion again?
