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Kayla Harrison calls out Julianna Peña for interim title fight at UFC 303 after debut win: ‘My time is now’

UFC bantamweight Kayla Harrison expresses interest in fighting on UFC 303 in June. This past weekend Harrison made a…

UFC bantamweight Kayla Harrison expresses interest in fighting on UFC 303 in June.

This past weekend Harrison made a successful debut in the UFC, completely dominating former champion Holly Holm. The fight would also mark the former Olympic gold medallist’s first at the bantamweight limit.

Harrison UFC 300 — Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Prior the bout, there had been real concerns around if Harrison would be able to make the weight as she has spent the majority of her career campaigning at lightweight. However, a very depleted Kayla Harrison would make her way to the scale and successfully make the 136lb limit for her bout against Holm.

After building a solid name for herself competing in the PFL, the win puts Harrison in a great position at the beginning of her UFC career and will likely be in a big fight next.

Kayla Harrison eyes UFC 303 return, Julianna Peña title fight

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Harrison even stated her willingness to make a quick turnaround, something which analysts had debated due to her likely needing time to do a healthy weight cut.

“I heard that ‘Rocky’s’ hurt all of the sudden, so if she can’t fight right now, I’m happy to fight whoever, this summer, for a title,” Harrison said. “Why not just an interim title? Then I’ll unify it, then I’ll fight Amanda. If it’s for a title, I will make myself available [for June 29]. I would love [UFC 303]. F—k it, my time is now. I like the sound of [Harrison vs. Pena]. There would be some good sh*t talking from me.”

Julianna Peña eyes title fight with Amanda Nunes or Irene Aldana in return from injury UFC 289 — Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron – USA TODAY Sports

You will likely hear lots of fighters arguing their case to be on the 303 card, as Conor McGregor is set to make his return against Michael Chandler in the main event.

Do you think Kayla Harrison will win a UFC title before she retires?

Kayla Harrison calls out Julianna Peña for interim title fight at UFC 303 after debut win: ‘My time is now’

UFC bantamweight Kayla Harrison expresses interest in fighting on UFC 303 in June. This past weekend Harrison made a…

UFC bantamweight Kayla Harrison expresses interest in fighting on UFC 303 in June.

After building a solid name for herself competing in the PFL, the win puts Harrison in a great position at the beginning of her UFC career and will likely be in a big fight next.

Kayla Harrison eyes UFC 303 return, Julianna Peña title fight

You will likely hear lots of fighters arguing their case to be on the 303 card, as Conor McGregor is set to make his return against Michael Chandler in the main event.

Do you think Kayla Harrison will win a UFC title before she retires?

Raquel Pennington eyes summer fight with UFC enemy Julianna Peña: ‘I’m so excited to finally punch her in the mouth’

Landing the vacant bantamweight championship last month at UFC 297, newly minted division best, Raquel Pennington has confirmed plans…

Landing the vacant bantamweight championship last month at UFC 297, newly minted division best, Raquel Pennington has confirmed plans for a summer return in a first title defense, in a grudge fight against former champion and fellow TUF alum, Julianna Peña.

Pennington, the newly-crowned bantamweight champion, co-headlined UFC 297 back in January in Canada, landing a one-sided decision shutout win over surging Brazilian grappling ace, Mayra Bueno Silva to win the vacant title.

As for Peña, The Ultimate Figher victor has been sidelined since 2022, suffering a one-sided decision loss of her own against common-foe, Amanda Nunes, dropping the bantamweight crown in a championship rematch.

And forced from a planned trilogy rubber match with Nunes at a pay-per-view event last June in ‘The Great White North’, Peña has been sidelined through injury, leaving her unable to fight the Brazilian at UFC 289.

Raquel Pennington welcomes summer fight with Julianna Peña

Planning her return to the Octagon in a title fight with Pennington in the aftermath of the Colorado native’s decision win over Bueno Silva, Peña’s wishes are set to be granted by the new gold holder, who plans a summer comeback to defend the title in the pair’s grudge match.

“At the end of the day, it’s exactly what I told Mayra (Bueno Silva) when we were getting ready to fight at the press conference: we were there and she started on, but our fists are going to do the talking,” Raquel Pennington told MMA Fighting. “It’s the same thing. You can keep running you mouth, you can keep saying all these things. I feel like Julianna (Peña) has a very delusional version of our history together, but it makes it fun.”

“It’s building a storyline, and the more she keeps talking and yapping, she’s selling things,” Raquel Pennington explained. “Good for you. But at the end of the day, our fists are going to talk and I’ll you what, this is a fight I’ve been wating for since 2013 and we were on The Ultimate Fighter. Somehow our time has not aligned, but obviously it’s coming, and I’m excited to finally punch her ass in the mouth. I will say that.”

Who wins in a summer title fight: Raquel Pennington or Julianna Peña?

Julianna Pena blasts Amanda Nunes after ‘The Lioness’ teases potential UFC comeback: ‘What a joke’

Julianna Pena knew Amanda Nunes couldn’t stay away for very long. Nunes hung up her gloves following a successful…

Julianna Pena knew Amanda Nunes couldn’t stay away for very long.

Nunes hung up her gloves following a successful bantamweight title defense against Irene Aldana in June, much to the chagrin of Pena who had been angling for a trilogy bout between the two. Nunes was in attendance for Raquel Pennington’s title-winning performance against Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in Toronto and opened the door for a return to the Octagon during a backstage interview with Megan Olivi.

Pena, who notoriously booed as Amanda Nunes delivered her retirement speech last summer, was none-too-surprised to hear that ‘The Lioness’ is already eyeing a potential comeback.

“Here’s the thing that really chaps my ass,” Peña said on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “When I was at her last fight, I was booing because she was going into retirement and I was like, ‘Don’t go into retirement. We have literally the biggest fight in women’s history, a trilogy that’s never been done before. What are you doing saying you’re going to retire? What a joke.’

“It warrants a boo because she’s over there telling Megan Olivi that she’s coming out of retirement. So I was right, and it was ‘Mystic Peña’ once again. Like, they were going to get mad at me and all her fans are upset at me. ‘Why would you boo her? How dare you?’ But it’s like, how dare she? How dare she say that she’s retiring and then one women’s fight later now she’s saying she’s coming back. Get out of here.”

Will We See Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 3?

The Venezuelan Vixen’ scored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history with a second-round rear-naked choke submission against Nunes to claim the bantamweight title in December 2021. Seven months later, Pena handed the title right back to Nunes in a lopsided unanimous decision loss that set the stage for an anticipated trilogy fight between the two 135-pounders.

With Julianna Pena slated to challenge Pennington for the bantamweight title this summer, it could once again put Nunes and the TUF alumnus on a collision course.

“Look, great for business, I’ve been trying to coax her into coming back this entire time.” Peña said. “It’s absolutely beautiful for everyone, and I knew she wasn’t going to be able to stay away. She was just doing that retirement for attention. It’s just ridiculous.”

Raquel Pennington opens as betting favorite to beat Julianna Peña after championship win at UFC 297

Newly minted undisputed bantamweight champion, Raquel Pennington has opened as a betting favorite to beat former titleholder, Julianna Peña…

Newly minted undisputed bantamweight champion, Raquel Pennington has opened as a betting favorite to beat former titleholder, Julianna Peña in a future title fight – following her coronation at UFC 297 over the course of the weekend in Toronto.

Pennington, who co-headlined UFC 297 over the course of the weekend in ‘The Great White North’ – turned in a one-sided unanimous decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva in her second pursuit of the bantamweight crown.

Sidelined herself for the prior year, former champion and The Ultimate Fighter winner, Peña has yet to feature since July 2022, most recently suffering a championship fight loss to common-foe, Amanda Nunes in the pair’s title clash rematch.

And forced from a title trilogy rubber match with Nunes at UFC 289 back in June of last year amid an injury, Peña was replaced by Irene Aldana, with the Mexican suffering a unanimous decision loss in what came as Brazilian favorite, Nunes’ final fight.

Welcoming a first title defense against Peña after her one-sided judging win over Bueno Silva at UFC 297 over the course of the weekend, Raquel Pennington has opened as a -150 betting favorite to beat the +130 betting underdog and former gold holder, Peña if they share the Octagon.

Raquel Pennington backed to beat Julianna Peña in UFC title fight

And mentioning her intentions to score a fight with Raquel Pennington as soon as the summer – Julianna Peña has one eye on a potential International Fight Week event in June, which is slated for Las Vegas, where fans and spectators can choose to play the best slots to play online for real money.

Voicing her interest in a quickfire turnaround against Peña in the immediate aftermath of her title fight victory against Bueno Silva in Canada, Pennington notably pointed to the pair’s stint on the above-mentioned Ultimate Fighter – as an interesting storyline for the duo’s expected grudge fight for gold.

“That’s the fight that makes sense,” Raquel Pennington said of a bout with Julianna Peña whilst speaking after UFC 297. “ I honestly thought that for the world title it was going to be me and Julianna, but she’s still injured.”

“That relationship just goes back to 2013 when we were both back in The Ultimate Fighter,” Raquel Pennington explained. “Let’s just say, I learned Julianna’s personality then, and it’s kind of one of those where you stay your way, and I’ll stay mine, but you get under my damn skin, I’ve been waiting for that fight for 13 years – whether the title is on the line or not.”

A potential spanner may be thrown into the works for Peña, however, with the above-noted former duel-weight champion, Nunes appearing not so committal on her June retirement, amid her prior TKO win over Pennington, and failing to close the door completely on a return to the sport.

“We’ll see what happens, you know,” Amanda Nunes told Megan Olivi following UFC 297. “I’m still young, you know – fresh. You know, like, you never know. We have a lot of things to do, I have a lot of things to figure out at home still – what I’m gonna do. And, we’ll see what happens.”

“I don’t know, you know,” Amanda Nunes explained when asked if the door remained open on her return. “I’m a fighter, you know. This is my job. And I love this so much, and I don’t know.”

Julianna Pena Gearing Up for a Summertime UFC Title Fight with New Champ Raquel Pennington

Julianna Pena is already angling for a summertime scrap with the new women’s bantamweight world champion. On Saturday (January…

Julianna Pena is already angling for a summertime scrap with the new women’s bantamweight world champion.

On Saturday (January 20), Raquel Pennington claimed her first UFC title after more than a decade competing inside the Octagon. She scored a decisive unanimous decision victory over Mayra Bueno Silva in the UFC 297 co-main event to capture the 135-pound crown, setting the stage for a showdown with fellow veteran and one-time titleholder Julianna Pena.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ joined Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour to share her thoughts on Pennington’s win in The Great White North. As expected, Pena has nothing particularly positive to say about the performances of both ‘Rocky’ and Bueno Silva.

“It was a snooze fest,” Peña said. “I was not impressed. I was not impressed with their performances, as my friend Georges St-Pierre likes to say. It was all around just a complete disappointment, but it doesn’t matter because the breaking news is we will be fighting for the real belt this summer, coming at you to a theatre near you.”

As for when he could see Pena make her return to the Octagon for a long-awaited clash with Pennington, the former bantamweight champ suggested that a date in either June or July is the likeliest scenario.

“Maybe the first week of June,” Pena revealed. “Maybe the third week of July. I’m not sure exactly, but I would say one of those two dates. I asked for International Fight Week. They said that the date wasn’t available. However, they did say that if anything changes they would let me know. I think the location would be a really big factor for me. They won’t give me the location of June or July yet, but I do know that both locations will be in the United States.“

Julianna Peña thinks she'll fight Pennington the first week in June or the third week in July.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/NeJBorHOj6

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 22, 2024

Pena admitted to being happy for her former Ultimate Fighter foe following the events of UFC 297, but that won’t stop her from trying to make Pennington’s title reign as short as possible and sending ‘Rocky’ into retirement.

“I really am happy for her and her career and everything like that,” Pena added. “But it’s going to be short-lived. It’s not going to be being this champion for seven years. That’s not the case, unfortunately. She’s already talking about retiring and going into her retirement being a family man. Let me do the honors and kick you into retirement, Raquel.”

Julianna Pena knows a thing or two about abbreviated title runs, handing the bantamweight strap back to Amanda Nunes seven months after shocking the world with a second-round submission of ‘The Lioness’ at UFC 269.