Julianna Pena takes aim at former UFC champion Ronda Rousey: “She’s kind of a joke in the MMA world now”

Julianna Pena has taken shots at former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

The current UFC bantamweight champion is currently expected to rematch Amanda Nunes later this year. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ captured gold by upsetting ‘The Lioness’ at UFC 269 in December 2021.

In the months following her victory, Pena has taken repeated shots at Ronda Rousey. While she’s noted that it’s unlikely, she would like to try and coax the former champion out of retirement. Rousey notably retired after back-to-back losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm in 2017.

Nowadays, the former champion works as a professional wrestler for WWE. In an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Pena opined that Rousey is a bit of a sellout. She also called the former champion a joke in the MMA world.

Julianna Pena stops Amanda Nunes at UFC 269

“She got knocked out twice and never came back, so how legit is she? She had to go to pro wrestling. I get that, and I think that’s great. But as a fighter, I understand deep-down that it bothers that she went off with two knockout losses and never made her name good. If it does get under her skin by the fact that her legacy is kind of like ruined by the fact that she never came back, I’d like to welcome her back with open arms.”

Pena continued, “No [I don’t think she’ll come back], that’s what I’m saying. She’s a bit of a joke in the MMA world now. She’s a little bit of a sellout, I mean, I guess I understand right? It’s like, pro-wrestling it’s fake and you get paid millions of dollars. But for me, for the real s*it, to be the real deal, that’s in the UFC. If she ever wants any of that real smoke, I’m ready.”

What do you think about Julianna Pena’s comments?