Julianna Pena plans to call out Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey with future UFC title win: “I want big money fights”

By Josh Evanoff - July 17, 2024

If Julianna Pena defeats UFC champion Raquel Pennington, she has some big plans.

Julianna Pena posing

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has been out of action for nearly two years now. In July 2022, Julianna Pena met Amanda Nunes just a few months after she handed ‘The Lioness’ an upset loss. Ultimately, the rematch wasn’t even close. The Brazilian dominated, handing Pena a lopsided decision defeat, and ending her brief title reign.

While the two were scheduled to meet for a trilogy bout last summer, the fight was canceled. Due to Julianna Pena suffering an injury, Amanda Nunes met Irene Aldana instead. The champion dominated, ultimately handing the Mexican fighter a decision defeat and then retired. As a result, the women’s bantamweight title was left vacant.

Earlier this year, Raquel Pennington won the vacant title with a decision victory over Mayra Bueno Silva. Despite rumors of a fight against Kayla Harrison, ‘Rocky’ is now expected to meet Julianna Pena. As of now, the fight between the two hasn’t been made official. However, they’ve been linked to a bout at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.

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Julianna Pena plans to call for Amanda Nunes, Ronda Rousey fights with UFC title win

In the event that Julianna Pena reclaims UFC gold, she has some big plans. Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani earlier this week, she shot down a future title defense against Kayla Harrison. Instead, Pena would prefer a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes and a long-awaited clash against Ronda Rousey.

“I still feel the spidey senses and all that, that she [Nunes] will come back.” Julianna Pena stated on The MMA Hour earlier this week, discussing her UFC return. “It’s just a matter of time before she does. [But] I don’t want to put my cart before the horse, I want to fight Raquel and I want to get my belt back. After that, I will absolutely be calling out Amanda, and I believe that she will come back because it’s too big of a fight for her. Of course [I’ll call out Nunes].”

She continued, “That’s if I win the belt. I should also call out Ronda [Rousey], you know what I mean? Ronda has been escaping these fights with me for years… I want big fights, I want big money fights. Absolutely [the trilogy is massive], we’re 1-1. Unfinished business.”

What do you make of these comments from Julianna Pena? Do you believe she will become UFC champion again?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Amanda Nunes Julianna Pena UFC