"One-trick pony" - Julianna Pena's rant about 'unimpressive' Kayla Harrison segues into jibe at Ronda Rousey
Julianna Pena has seemingly questioned the fighting skills of longtime rivals Kayla Harrison and Ronda Rousey. While sounding off on Harrison, Pena suggested that both she and Rousey were one-dimensional combatants.
Pena's coming off a razor-thin split decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 (Oct. 5, 2024), whereby she reclaimed the UFC women's bantamweight title. A number of fans subsequently asserted that Pennington knocked Pena down, seemed to have her dazed on multiple occasions, and was more deserving of the judges' nod.
Also at UFC 307, two-time Olympic gold medalist Judoka Kayla Harrison bested Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision. Harrison is a former two-time PFL women's lightweight champion and a former training partner-cum-roommate of Ronda Rousey, a former UFC women's bantamweight champion.
The consensus is that Harrison would fight Pena for the UFC bantamweight belt next.
During her UFC 307 post-fight octagon interview, Julianna Pena appeared to snub Kayla Harrison and instead pursued a trilogy fight against former two-division champion Amanda Nunes who's been retired from MMA since June 2023.
When asked if she watched Harrison's matchup, Pena explained that she was warming up and focusing on her own fight.
The American of Venezuelan descent noted that her coaches updated her about Harrison's fight. Apparently, she and her team are "not impressed." She deemed the Vieira-Harrison matchup as "boring" and opined that the Judoka didn't look like the supposed "boogeyman."
When asked if that had to do with Harrison or perhaps Vieira's underappreciated toughness, Pena replied by reiterating her longstanding belief that grappling savants Harrison and Rousey are one-dimensional fighters. The 35-year-old stated:
"I definitely think that at some point or another, like Ronda, when you figure out the one-trick pony of being able to stuff a takedown, you realize that the fight is more competitive and more even than people want to give it credit for. So I think that once you stuff the takedown, you realize that you're actually in a tougher fight than you thought you were. And I think that that's kind of what played into her head tonight."
Check out Julianna Pena's comments below (25:22):
When Julianna Pena accused Ronda Rousey of 'running' from her
Speaking to Sports Illustrated in 2022, Julianna Pena accused Ronda Rousey of long evading a fight against her. Pena, who won The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18, recounted that a knee injury scrapped her potential fight against Rousey. Pena recalled that when she eventually earned a title shot, 'Rowdy' had already lost and departed the sport:
"When I came back, she lost and ran off and hasn't come back. But I have a feeling that she wants to come back."
Season 18 of the UFC's TUF reality show was marked by the iconic rivalry between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Rousey previously defeated Tate with an armbar submission in Strikeforce and later won their rematch in the UFC too.
Incidentally, Julianna Pena was on Team Tate that season, which transpired in 2013. For years, Pena and Tate have been vocal critics of 'Rowdy.' Regardless, the belief is that Pena is unlikely to fight her. Rousey last competed in MMA in December 2016 and recently revealed that she'd stepped away from combat sports competition altogether due to concussion issues.