Ex-UFC champion compares Julianna Pena's fighting style to Dricus du Plessis': "People just don't understand it"
A former UFC women's champion is convinced that Julianna Pena possesses underrated striking skills similar to those of middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
Ex-bantamweight queen Miesha Tate and Pena share an interesting history. 'The Venezuelan Vixen' was one of Tate's first female training partners, and Tate later coached her to victory in 'The Ultimate Fighter' Season 18 in 2013.
Although Pena is primarily known for her grappling skills, 'Cupcake' believes her 'TUF' 18 pupil gets too little credit for her striking, similar to du Plessis. Speaking to MMA Junkie Radio, Tate said:
"I think Julianna's striking is extremely underrated. I think her striking is actually very effective. People just don't understand it. It's kind of like [du Plessis]. I think a lot of people look at him, and they don't really respect his striking either. I draw some similarities in their striking."
Tate asserts that the No.1-ranked contender's strikes are deceptively powerful. Given that Pena hurt the widely regarded women's MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes on the feet before submitting her at UFC 269, 'Capcake's' assessment seems well founded.
'The Venezuelan Vixen' is set to challenge Raquel Pennington for the women's bantamweight title this weekend at UFC 307, held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
While Tate acknowledges Pena's striking to be underrated, she credits Pennington for possessing high-level technical boxing prowess comparable to the women's pound-for-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko.
Check out the full interview featuring Meisha Tate below:
Julianna Pena considers UFC 307 title fight the most important bout of her career
While she has been a UFC champion before, Julianna Pena considers her upcoming fight against Raquel Pennington to be the most important fight for her MMA career.
Pena's UFC title win came via a second-round submission against Amanda Nunes. However, the 35-year-old lost the belt to the 'The Lioness' in their rematch at UFC 277.
The upcoming pay-per-view will mark her second title shot. In an interview with MMA Crazy in the lead-up to the bout, Pena said:
"Everyone always says your last fight is your most important fight. They say stuff like this is the biggest fight of my life... I think I've said that in the past. But truly, truly, truly from the bottom of my heart, this is the biggest fight of my life and this is the most important fight of my career."
Catch Julianna Pena's comments below (2:45):