"She is kind of a joke now" - Julianna Peña takes major shots at Ronda Rousey, talks down on her performance at WrestleMania 38
Julianna Peña has been extremely busy since winning the UFC women's bantamweight belt off Amanda Nunes in December 2021. She's filmed a new season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Nunes that will air soon, and is hoping their rematch will take place this summer. Over weekend, she travelled to Dallas so she could enjoy WrestleMania 38.
In an interview on The MMA Hour, WrestleMania talk turned to Ronda Rousey talk and Peña was asked if she thought Rousey would ever return to MMA. Peña said:
"No. That's what I'm saying, she is kind of a joke in the MMA world now. Because she's ... what's the word? A sell-out. A little bit of a sell-out there. I mean I guess I understand? It's pro wrestling, it's fake, you get paid millions of dollars. But for me, for the real s**t, for the 'You're the real deal' ... I would say that's in the UFC and if she ever wants any of that real smoke, I'm ready."
Peña did credit Rousey with having a solid match against Charlotte Flair before making one suggestion. She said:
"Yes I thought she had a great match, I thought she was very good ... But she needs to be more comfortable in her skin or needs to figure out different attire because every move that she does, there's a wardrobe fix. She's pulling her pants down, she's pulling her bra up, every move is followed by a wardrobe change so she can be comfortable in whatever she's wearing ... You didn't see Charlotte Flair one time touch anything she was wearing, it was all about the match."
Watch the full Julianna Peña interview with The MMA Hour below:
Julianna Peña wants to help Ronda Rousey fix her UFC legacy
Julianna Peña suggested she was ready to throw down with Rousey if the two ran into each other at WrestleMania, and had more than a few harsh opinions about 'Rowdy.' Peña said:
"She got knocked out twice and never came back. So how legit is she? She had to go to pro wrestling. And I get that and I think that's great, but as a fighter and someone who's competitive, I think deep down it probably bothers her that she went away off two KO losses and never came back."
She added:
"If it truly does bother Ronda and gets under her skin at the end of the day to know that her legacy is kinda like ruined, then I'd like to invite her to come back. And if she would like to come back I would welcome her with open arms."
For now, Julianna Peña says her focus remains on Amanda Nunes.