Former UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Pena knows people and other fighters dislike her, but she is fine with that.
Pena has been full of trash talk which helps sell fights, but because of that, she also has taken shots from fans and other fighters. But, Pena says people calling her the most hated fighter in the women’s division is a compliment to her.
“The only big name I know is mine. That’s the only big name I know. That being said, I think it’s a compliment that I’m the most hated in the women’s division, that they all want to fight me. It’s not just her, it’s every single one of those gals. They always underestimate me, they think that I’m just some layup fight or they’re just going to walk all over me. And they’re always in for a rude awakening when that isn’t the case,” Pena said at the UFC Hall of Fame media scrum (via CageSidePress).
Pena hasn’t fought since July of 2022 when she dropped a decision to Amanda Nunes to lose her bantamweight title after she submitted Nunes to win the championship in one of the biggest upsets ever.
Julianna Pena Unsure Why Title Fight Hasn’t Been Announced
Julianna Pena is expected to fight Raquel Pennington for the women’s bantamweight title next time out.
However, the fight hasn’t been announced yet, and Pena isn’t sure why that is but confirms that the fight will be happening next.
“I said I was waiting to sign for it. They’re probably just making sure that both of us don’t show up like a bag of bones, doing all this promotion, and then one of us is going to fall out or something. I’m assuming that is one of the reasons,” Pena added.
Julianna Pena is currently 11-5 as a pro and is coming off a decision loss to Amanda Nunes. Pena is 7-3 in the UFC and also has notable wins over Cat Zingano, Germaine de Randamie, and Nunes.