UFC champion Julianna Pena lashes out at doubters ahead of Kayla Harrison fight: “I’m not going to stop”

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena doesn’t care about the odds ahead of her fight against Kayla Harrison.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has been out of the cage since her title fight against Raquel Pennington last October. In the co-main event of UFC 307, Julianna Pena ended a two-year layoff to hand ‘Rocky’ a split-decision loss. In the process, she re-won the same gold she lost to Amanda Nunes in their rematch.

As of now, Julianna Pena hasn’t booked her return to the octagon. However, rumors have spread about the newly crowned champion meeting former PFL star Kayla Harrison at UFC 316 in June. For her part, the Judoka is riding a three-fight winning streak, last handing Ketlen Vieira a unanimous decision defeat last fall.

While Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison isn’t official, lines are already being released for the UFC title bout. BetOnline recently released a betting line for the fight, with the challenger positioned as -700 favorite. Meanwhile, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ opened as a massive +525 underdog for her first title defense.

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Julianna Pena downplays betting odds ahead of UFC title fight against Kayla Harrison

Speaking in a recent interview with The Overdogs Podcast, the UFC champion discussed her return. There, Julianna Pena was asked about the betting line, and her reaction to being the underdog. Unsurprisingly, the 35-year-old shook it off, adding that fans and oddsmakers have always counted her out.

“I think that one of the reasons why I’m a 7-1 underdog, or why I always get overlooked, or why people are always counting me out, is maybe I’m not the most technically sound.” Julianna Pena stated. “[Maybe I don’t] make everything perfect, where I’m so technical. But, I’ve always had this one thing that has set me apart from everybody else, and that is my mindset. I’ve never put a ceiling on myself as far as what I’m capable of doing. I’ve always believed that I can.”

He continued, “When you have that mental toughness of, ‘I don’t care what you do, I’m still going to get up and still keep coming at you a million miles an hour’, you’re going to have to literally cut my head off to get me to stop. I’m not going to stop. (h/t MMA News)

What do you make of these comments from the UFC champion? Do you think Julianna Pena will beat Kayla Harrison later this year?