Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo talk about why Julianna Pena could pull off an upset against Raquel Pennington at UFC 307
Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo recently discussed the upcoming women's bantamweight title clash between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena and claimed that the challenger is capable of pulling off an upset. The former champion comes into the bout following a two-year layoff, so the odds could be stacked against her.
Pennington has been the more active competitor as she last competed at UFC 297 this past January, where she earned a unanimous decision over Mayra Bueno Silva to win the vacant women's bantamweight championship. Meanwhile, Pena last competed at UFC 277, where she lost her championship to Amanda Nunes in their rematch.
During the latest episode of their Pound 4 Pound podcast, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and 'Triple C' analyzed whether 'The Venezuelan Vixen' can regain the women's bantamweight championship.
Usman mentioned that the UFC 307 co-main event is unpredictable, while Cejudo added that Pena is a resilient and durable fighter that can pull off the upset. Usman said:
"I feel like this is one of those fights where it's difficult to pick a winner because Julianna [Pena] being able to go in there and put on those two amazing fights with Amanda Nunes, you can never count her out. But, she's been out for over two years."
Cejudo added:
"Julianna Pena's a freaking dog, dude. Their styles are somewhat identical...Similar sizes, 5'7 and 5'6, man, I'm gonna go with the underdog. I'm gonna go with Julianna Pena even though it's been a couple years. She beat the GOAT."
Check out Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo's comments below:
Kamaru Usman believes Raquel Pennington is more well-rounded than Julianna Pena
Despite not ruling out Julianna Pena pulling off an upset, Kamaru Usman noted that he believes that Raquel Pennington is a more well-rounded fighter.
During the aforementioned episode, Usman mentioned that Pennington has more tools in her arsenal, which could help her earn her first successful women's bantamweight title defense:
"Raquel Pennington is just a little bit too solid because once you become that champion, you get that extra oomph behind you. If that Raquel Pennington shows up, I think she's just a little too solid with her stand up with her Muay Thai, her knees. I'm gonna have to go with Raquel Pennington [at UFC 307]."
Check out the full episode of Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo below: