MMA Fighting - Julianna Pena Sends Message To Kayla Harrison, Critics Ahead Of UFC 307 Title Fight

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

UFC 307's Julianna Peña previews her UFC bantamweight title fight with Raquel Pennington this Saturday, discusses the fight having a decade-plus build, why she deserves the shot over Kayla Harrison, if Harrison is next with a win this weekend, meeting Hulk Hogan, and more with MMA Fighting's Mike Heck. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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But first, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. If I got a poker eyeballs out, if I got a biter on the frickin' finger, I'm going to literally do whatever I can to get my hand raised. I don't care. Come hell or my water, I guarantee you. I am willing to die in there, as you guys have seen.

and I'm not going to stop until I get the victory. So I don't care if I knock her out with a pinky finger. I don't care if I submit her, you know, with one arm again. I am going to do everything that I can. And I will do everything that I can to get my hand raised. All right, let us say hello to the former UFC Women's Bannonweight champion, looking to become a two-time champion. She faces Raquel Pennington at UFC 307.

She is the Venezuelan Vickson, Giuliana Pena. Juliana, good to see you. How are you? I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. How are you? I'm doing great. You have that. I'm about to fight for a world title glow to you right now. I assume the excitement levels are rising by the minute in preparation for this fight. Yeah, I feel like I've been waiting for this fight to come on for a long time. I feel like I've been just thinking about it for like the last 18 months. I'm ready to go in there and do it. It's actually a bit surreal that it's finally here. So I can't believe that I'm going to be saying, oh, we're leaving for the fight till on Monday. And so that's kind of where I'm at, right? right now where it's like a bit of surrealness going on. Yeah, 18 months to wait for this opportunity. But I feel like this is one of those fights that people have been watching the sport for a long time at some point thought to themselves, this has to be a rematch, right?

Because it's so surprising that this is the first time you two have been put together after being on the same season of tough. And after being in the UFC for over a decade, it just seemed like your paths would have crossed long before this. Are you surprised this hadn't been set up before? Yes and no. You know, when I won the ultimate fighter, my trajectory was going up and I never looked down the ladder. I was always just trying to climb up the ladder. And so for me, it's always been a thing about fighting the best and fighting for a world title and everything like that. Now that she has made it to that point, the rules are reversed a little bit in terms of me being the number one contender and her being ahead of me with holding the championship. She said it herself and I'll just, you know, know, take the words right out of her mouth. This has been 13 years in the making, and it is a bit weird that we have never had a

fight lined up to face each other. But this is the first time, and it almost feels like we're on the ultimate fighter again, and we're going to see who the last woman standing is. And I'm willing to bet that that's going to be me. She fought Myra Buena Silva for the vacant belt in January, and you felt like you had next regardless, and it obviously turned out that way. Were you a bit disappointed that Myra Buena Silva? didn't get it done considering, it was like a year build for a fight that you weren't even

a part of. There's just every interview she did, she had something to say about you, and then you were obviously asked to retort. And it just seemed like the back and forths the two of you had would have set up for just a ridiculous fight build. Yeah, you know, I thought it was pretty funny because a lot of the girls get into this, you know, interview mindset of meeting to say my name. and it doesn't matter who they're talking to or what they're talking about somehow or another, they're always calling me out. So that just tells me that I'm doing my job, and that just tells me that I have something that they want.

And it's a good thing that the targets on my back. That means that everybody's gun in for me because I am obviously the one to be gunning for. So if anything, it's just a compliment. And I tried to tell her just to focus on your fight, you know what I mean? You don't need to be worrying about me so much. You've got your hands full with who you're fighting. but they don't want to listen. Raquel's also been saying your name a lot over the years.

She hasn't had a lot of kind things to say about you either. She's been wanting this fight. Like you said, 13 years in the making. Why do you think she has such an issue with you? I think that she's got a bad taste in her mouth as far as us living together on the Ultimate Fighter and her not winning the show. I think she blames, you know, Dana White for the fact

that she didn't win and she feels like she is the rightful person that should have won the show, but it didn't work out that way. So at the end of the day to me, and I would never say anybody's jealous, but it just kind of comes across as jealous when, you know, they pander her on the ultimate fighter and the only thing that she's talking about is how the coaches only care about me and how everybody's only paying attention to me. And, you know, meanwhile, I'm doing her dishes and cooking her food and, you know, giving her makeovers and, you know, teaching her out to walk in a dress and heels, you know, she should be saying thank you. But, Instead, she's saying she wants to fight me.

So let's go. Is that a bit annoying for you after all this time? Or is it just, it's so long ago it doesn't even really matter at this point? It's definitely so long ago that it doesn't even matter. But for me, she says that she's been, you know, thinking about it for 13 years. And I'm just thinking to myself and I haven't thought about you for 13 years. I've just been, you know, going up the ladder and fighting champions and fighting the best of the best. And so for me, it's just one of these things where I don't have any.

Real animosity towards Raquel, you know, I'll just chalk it up as, you know, we were young and and it was the fight game. And it still is the fight game. And so at the end of the day, I've taken the emotion out of it and just, you know, whittled it down to its simplest meat and potatoes form. It's a fist fight and a steel cage. And whoever wants it is going to get it. And I am going to do everything to get my hand raised to come home in high water. Yeah, I remember watching the Hall of Fame Red Carpin. You basically, you're both right next to each other. doing your like different scrums. You were around like one scrum and she was like three feet away from you doing a different scrum.

And, you know, that basically answers what you just said that there's no real animosity there. We're building a fight and maybe there is some bad blood on her side and maybe a little bit on your side because you're about to get into a fight. But you're right next to each other. Things are going to pop off. They could have easily popped up there and they didn't. So. Roger's hilarious to me.

It's like they have all this stuff to say about me behind my back. and nobody has anything to say to my face, you know what I mean, which I thought was very interesting. And Kayla included. It was all they ever talk about is me, me, me, me, me. And then they're right there. They have the opportunity to say something and then they don't say anything. And of course, I'm not going to either because, you know, obviously not my style. But I definitely would have had the last word if we needed to come to that.

But it never came to that, which I was surprised to see, like, why aren't you going to say anything now, you know? have you been impressed with what Raquel has done because she got to the belt and she lost to Amanda and had a couple of other setbacks, but she's gone back on the horse, hasn't lost in over four years, made her way back to a title shot, which a lot of people didn't think she could do. And then now has the belt. What have you made of her run over the last four years or so? I would say, you know, impressive is not the right word that I would use, but I would say, you know, hats off to her. She has my respect. And at the end of the day, you know, Raquel is a veteran in the sport. She's been doing it for a long time. And at the end, again, I know I said it before, but I lost my chain of thought and it came back to me.

She has earned it. She has earned it. And so I wouldn't necessarily say, impressive is the word, but she has earned the chance and to be the champion and everything like that. So head's off to her. Of course, you know how the fans of the sport can be, Juliana. It's been, you know, over two years since your last fight. They had booked the third fight with Amanda Duna's for you last year. And then you unfortunately suffered an injury. And she went on to fight Arrini Aldana, won, announced her retirement. And you probably hear it all the time, folks saying,

why is Giuliana getting this shot? She's been out. She hasn't fought in two years. She's coming off a loss in her last fight. Nune is retired. Kayla's here coming off the win of UFC 300. But here you are. You said you were going to fight for the belt,

and you're going to fight for the belt. What's your message to the naysayers and the critics who feel you shouldn't be here? Well, I think that not only is it unfair for somebody to beat, you know, a 45-year-old and get one win and be able to fight. for the title, you know, and just kind of jump the line ahead of all these other girls that have been in the division for a long time. But also, you know, there hasn't been anybody else that was ever able to stop Amanda Nunes in the fashion and in the dominant fashion that I was able to do. You know, even Raquel herself quit on the stool and they had to throw in the towel for her.

I think that for me, I stopped and slayed the goat that no one was able to beat in over seven years. And I think that that in and of itself has kind of earned me the opportunity to say that I'm going to be fighting for the belt, regardless of the layoff, especially after the second fight where, you know, sure, on the scorecards I lost. But if you go back and watch that fight, I had a very deep arm bar where that fight could have been finished in the fourth round. I had a mere flush wound cut on my face. And yeah, absolutely, I got dropped several times, but I was never knocked out. I got back up every single time. And at the end of the day, Amanda could not finish me. She could not knock me out.

She walked out of there and crutches in a wheelchair and half of her face swollen shut like she had Elyt Titus. And no one has been able to do that to her except me. So I think that with that being said, it's kind of like one of these things is like, did you beat me? Yeah, you might have beat me on the scorecards. But if we got locked inside of a room and, you know, they only said that one of us could come out. I'm willing to bet that that would have been me because I know that I'm a great warrior and that I'm literally going to give hell or die trying. And I was clutching onto that thing as hard as I could in my defense and I wasn't able to get the job done.

But I don't feel defeated. It went to a decision. And, you know, aside from it being bloody and having a little cut, I never stopped and I never will. that win over Nunes in pulling out that upset the way you did it to become the UFC champion I'm sure that moment is impossible to top but getting the belt back beating Raquel becoming a two-time champ silencing the doubters once again what will that mean to you in comparison it will mean the world it means that I clawed and scratch my way back up to the top of the mountain and I got I got it done again um Pena two-time

that sounds good to me and I obviously am in this sport for that reason. I want to go down in history is one of the best. I want to go down in the Hall of Fame is one of the best and I'm not going to stop until I get there. And so I think

obviously it would be hard to top that moment. I blew the roof off of the place when I beat Amanda the first time. But I'm looking forward to getting another opportunity another crack at gold and just looking forward to getting my hand raised. I don't know if you're in the prediction game at this point in your career.

I'm sure you're not going to say, oh, Raquel's going to get the better of me. It'll be a great fight. But how do you get this done? How do you get it done? So Dana wraps that belt around your waist the second time. If I got a poker eyeballs out, if I got a bider on the freaking finger, I'm going to literally do whatever I can to get my hand raised.

I don't care. Come hell or my water. I guarantee you I am willing to die in there, as you guys have seen. And I'm not going to stop until I get the victory. So I don't care if I knock her out with a pinky finger. I don't care if I submit her, you know, with one arm again. I am going to do everything that I can and I will do everything that I can to get my hand raised. And I don't know how it's going to come.

I can't predict one. I'm not Nostradamus. I don't have a crystal ball. I just have confidence in myself and my game. If all goes to plan and you painted two times, is that what you said? I like that, by the way. you had the win over Nunes, which like you said, nobody else has done in over a seven-year stretch.

What other boxes would be left for you to check off in your career? Like what other goals do you kind of see for yourself? I know you're not looking past Raquel, but you seem like a forward thinker as well. Yeah, never. I don't want to ever look past anyone. I just know that I'm competent in my game. But I will say defending, defending.

I think defending and retaining my belt will be the next. immediate goal after that. You mentioned Kayla Harrison's name, who is also fighting on the card. She's fighting Ketland-Vierra. Most people believe if she gets done what she needs to get done, that she will be next, that she gets the winner of your fight, which you plan on winning. Do you believe Kayla will be next for you if all goes according to plan? Did I mention her or did you mention her?

I mentioned her. Well, you did as well. No, you did. And then I had no choice but the rebuttal. I'm joking. The UFC is very strategic in what they want to do and what they have to do. And I guarantee you told them that the winner of that fight will face me in the next title challenge. So yes, that's exactly right.

That whoever wins out of there will be fighting for the belt. And I'm not sure. All I know for a fact is that she should quit saying my name and focus on the grill that she has to fight in front of her. because Caitlin ain't no slouch. So looking forward to to seeing who wins that fight and who my next opponent will be. By the way, did I see that you met Hulk Hogan?

Yes, yes. I'm actually... How did that happen? I'm actually sponsored. I'm their first sponsored athlete for real American beer. And that's how that happened. He came out with a new beer.

It's crisp, it's light, it's fantastic, it's great. You can buy it at your local grocery store in most states. and they decided to sponsor an athlete, and I'm the first one that they got behind. So a very proud supporter, very proud partner to be working with Real American Beer and the Hulk Cogan. Were you a Hulkomaniac growing up?

What was that like for you being able to meet him? Yeah, no, it was a dream come true. You know, you see why those heroes that, you know, you looked up to growing up are those heroes. He was extremely genuine, polite, respectful. I got a chance to speak with him at length very closely while his highlights were going on on the TV. And we got to go through him fighting, you know, the Iron Sheek and Rick Flair and Randy Macho Man Savage. And did I say the Iron Sheek, Andre the Giant?

You know, so just watching him do his thing and being like, where were you here? And what were you thinking here? And what did you have to think here? And, oh, how was that match? You know, and just getting a chance to pick his brain on his career. and, you know, the highlight that were just in front of our faces for, you know, those 15 minutes, it was, it was really cool to get a chance to, you know, meet one of your heroes growing up. And he's just everything that he is on TV is except more, extremely genuine.

And it was a pleasure to be able to spend that amount of time with him. Well, as Hulk Hogan says, hopefully you said your prayers trained and taking your vitamins in this fight camp, which just stays away from your opportunity to become a two-todont. UFC women's Bannamway champion facing Raquel Pennington co-made event of UFC 307. Of course, the main event is Alex Brewer versus Cleo Roundtrie. Who do you think wins that fight, by the way, before I let you down? I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

I'm too focused on my own fight and what I got to do to worry about anybody else. So not my monkey, not my circus. Fair enough, but you're going to set the table. So thank you, Julia. I appreciate it. And all the best to you, fight week and in the fight itself. Thank you so much. I appreciate the time.

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