Julianna Peña, a two-time UFC champion, has certainly experienced ups and downs throughout her career, holding a 3-2 record over her last five fights dating back to 2020.
This Saturday at UFC 316, Peña aims for her first title defense against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison. She enters this co-main event bout as a significant underdog. Peña secured this opportunity after a narrow split decision win against Raquel Pennington, following a heavily lopsided defeat to Amanda Nunes in their 2022 rematch.
While Peña famously holds a submission victory over Nunes from their initial meeting, aside from her win over Pennington last year, the 35-year-old bantamweight champion doesn`t have a win against any other active fighter on the UFC roster. This record, coupled with his observations of her performances inside the octagon, leaves retired veteran Matt Brown puzzled by Peña`s standing in the sport.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Brown commented, “I almost feel bad for Julianna going into this fight. I don’t know how she’s gotten as far as she has. I don’t like talking trash about fighters, I don’t want to put her down—hopefully she just doesn’t hear this—but she’s exactly one of the reasons I don’t enjoy most women’s MMA. Kayla is exactly one of the reasons I do enjoy some women’s MMA.”
Brown continued his assessment: “Kayla is a f*cking legit savage fighter and she’s good and it’s [enjoyable] to watch. Julianna, just being honest, I don’t know how she’s in the position she’s in. She doesn’t really do much of anything good. All due respect, I’m not trying to take a bunch of hate for it or anything but it just is what it is. I just don’t how you can fight that poorly and be in the top organization in the world.”
Brown suggests that Peña`s prominence is largely sustained by her memorable upset victory over Amanda Nunes, one of the biggest surprises in UFC history.
While acknowledging that win can`t be erased, Brown questions if defeating Nunes ultimately put Peña in a more difficult situation now that she faces Harrison this weekend.
“The unfortunate part for her is she beats Amanda Nunes so of course now she gets a fight like Kayla Harrison but that’s unfortunate for her,” Brown stated. “It’s going to get her a little bit of press, we’re talking about it, she might get a little bit better payday for this, I don’t really know what her contract is or anything but now she’s got to go fight Kayla Harrison.”
He speculated on Peña`s potential mindset during the fight: “That’s not going to be an enjoyable night for her. She might look back and be like ‘God, I wish I never beat Amanda Nunes, they would have never put me in this shit.’ She might start thinking that in the middle of the first round. Like god, how did my life turn out like this and why am I in this situation?”
Brown doesn`t diminish Peña`s win over Nunes but believes the rematch provided a clearer picture of the skill gap between the two competitors.
“I think in the second fight, Amanda put a good stamp on it and showed ‘I didn’t train for the first one, I didn’t respect this chick,’” Brown said, although he doesn`t favor that explanation. “I never like that as an excuse. We’re supposed to be professionals.”
He added, “Sometimes it’s just obvious, too. Like [Georges St-Pierre]-[Matt] Serra, sometimes it’s clear who was better. I don’t like using the term lucky punch either but whoever just happened to show up on that night.”
Regarding Kayla Harrison, Brown sees her as the potential solution to revitalize the women`s bantamweight division, which has lacked major stars since the retirements of Nunes and Ronda Rousey.
Brown expressed strong confidence in Harrison`s ability to win on Saturday night and put the division back on track.
“Kayla is going to come in and demolish everybody and show them all what a real fighter is,” Brown predicted. “That’s exactly what the division needs. It’s what girls’ MMA needs. Just a real fighter coming in and showing them real skills.”
He reflected on Harrison`s recent performance: “I thought Holly Holm had a good shot at beating her because I think Holly Holm is also a very good fighter. Didn’t have a chance. Like nothing. Once I saw that, I knew Kayla was great, but she never fought someone like Holly either. I was like we’ll see and with the weight cut … the weight cut had a lot of concerns but she showed she’s that girl. She’s the one that they needed and she’s here to f*ck people up.”
