Kayla Harrison blasts Julianna Peña over doping allegations: “You will find every excuse…”

Two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison was accused this week of using performance-enhancing drugs by former UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Peña.

During Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Peña accused Harrison of having a checkered past when it comes to using banned substances to gain an advantage in the cage.

“Great, strong [on the scale at UFC 300]. Stay off the needle, bro,” Peña said of Harrison.  “Maybe not now, but definitely in the past, absolutely, there’s no question…at International Fight Week, we all came inside the rooms for the social media scrum [for fighters]. Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, all these guys to teach us everything we need to learn about…we broke for lunch, the next one after that was the anti-doping [scrum]. Everyone was there…everyone showed for the second one minus Kayla [Harrison]. She’s the only one that didn’t go to the anti-doping one…

“How convenient that she wasn’t…I just already have the mindset that people are cheating, that everyone’s cheating. Especially from [American Top Team], 100 percent. When Dan Lambert flew me out there, and I went to train for a week after I won The Ultimate Fighter, they literally told me all the girls were in the back, shooting each other in the ass with steroids…so I’ve always thought that about [American Top Team], and no one’s ever gonna change my mind.”

As of this writing, there’s no direct evidence of doping from Harrison, and she’s been clean for her entire Judo and MMA careers to this point.

Kayla Harrison issues fiery response to Julianna Peña

In a recent tweet, Harrison hit back at Peña’s allegations.

I have been tested by USADA since I was 12 years old. You will find every excuse in the world not to fight me. and the only shot in the ass people need around u is anti-nausea medication. https://t.co/rjEuoOBjVr

— Kayla Harrison Official (@KaylaH) July 15, 2024

“I have been tested by USADA since I was 12 years old,” Harrison retorted. “You will find every excuse in the world not to fight me. And the only shot in the ass people need around u is anti-nausea medication.”

Harrison and Peña could potentially be on a collision course in the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Peña is rumored to face UFC bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington later this year, and Harrison is knocking on the door for a title shot.

Harrison won her UFC debut by finishing Holly Holm at UFC 300 in April. As for Peña, she hasn’t competed since losing the belt to Amanda Nunes at UFC 277.