The euphoria from winning Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter didn‘t deter Julianna Pena from continuing to needle women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey on Saturday night.
Following her one-sided beating of Jessica Rakoczy, which made her the first ever female TUF winner, an elated Pena reaffirmed her distaste for Rousey during a post-fight interview with FOX Sports 1.
Whether Ronda has one penny or $10 million, the point that I was trying to draw there is she has her nose in the air, and she acts like she’s better than everyone else. She went on the show like, ‘I’m team real mean versus fake nice.’ Well, if she was so real, why didn’t she tell me that I didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as Shayna Baszler? Why didn’t she tell me that to my face instead of saying it on camera behind my back?
A longtime training partner of Rousey‘s nemesis, Miesha Tate, the 24-year-old Pena then offered her best interpretation of “Rowdy’s” personality.
“It’s her arrogance. It’s the way she holds herself—like her s**t don’t stink. And that was the point I was trying to make. It doesn’t have anything to do with money; it’s the way that she acts.”
Rakoczy got back to her feet briefly following a Pena trip takedown in the first round. But a relentless Pena scored another trip takedown later in the round, and this time, Rakoczy failed to get back to her feet.
Pena eventually advanced to a mount position, where she uncorked more than enough punches and elbows to put the Canadian professional boxer away. Referee Mario Yamasaki called the bout and ripped Pena off a lumped-up Rakoczy with one second left in the first round.
“The Venezuelan Vixen” beat Gina Mazany via decision to gain entry into the TUF 18 house. In the quarterfinals, the first overall female pick submitted Shayna Baszler, a 10-year pro and the tournament’s early front-runner. Pena then submitted grappling wizard Sarah Moras in the semifinals to punch her ticket to the finals.
Pena started her verbal quarrel with Rousey on Wednesday when she said the following about the company’s first female champ on an episode of FOX Sports Live.
“I think what bugs me the most would be just her all-around pretentious attitude, and I feel like she’s just a spoiled rich brat, and uh, that’s what I think.”
Pena has plenty to say regarding Rousey; although, the Washington native remains cognizant that a fight with the champ won’t happen anytime soon, saying “I’m probably like two or three fights away.”
While Pena’s not quite ready for Rousey, she’s certainly capable of locking horns with a top-10 bantamweight. Jessica Andrade (No. 10), Germaine de Randamie (No. 9) or Amanda Nunes (No. 8) would each make suitable opponents for the surging Pena.
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