All but two media members scored the fight in favor of Pennington (h/t MMA Decisions). Pennington says even the UFC was prepping to have her announced as the winner.
“That night was just a really weird night,” Pennington told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve gone to a decision multiple times, and I’ve never felt so confident going to the judges’ decision. I feel like it’s one of those things, for one, when it comes to a championship fights, you have to beat the champ to be the champ – and she did not beat me.
“The three people who had the best seat in the house – the entire world, the entire media, like everybody in the UFC was for me then all of a sudden it’s like, oh – her. I think that says a lot, especially when you’re just shocked that your name got called. They even had my family lined up ready to go in there. I mean everybody, the commentators, Dana (White), were like, ‘Hmm – no.'”
Despite the disappointment in losing her title, Pennington hinted that the UFC has some plans for her.
“It was really interesting. It definitely hurt my heart, but my head is high,” Pennington continued. “It’s just another bump in the journey. I’m actually excited for what the future holds. I’ve had some great conversations with the UFC, and there’s a lot to look forward to. I definitely don’t feel like I lost that fight, so I still feel like the champ.”
Peña jumped at the opportunity to say Harrison is not ready for a title fight.
“The girl wants to take time off because she even knows that she can’t make the weight and that she’s not a rightful 135’er,” Peña told MMA Today. “She’s too big. She obviously can’t already make the first fight, which is making it to the octagon. She needs time off. That, to me, is already a loss.”
Peña was also not impressed with Harrison’s performance against Vieira, where she outgrappled the Brazilian, but tasted blood for the first time in her career. “The Venezuelan Vixen” is willing to fight Harrison next, but only if Nunes opts to wait.
“Secondly, there was nothing that I saw in her fight against Ketlen Vieira that was, ‘Oh, some world beater. Oh my gosh, I’m terrified: Kayla Harrison,'” Peña said. “Give me a break. She went out there three weeks early and she still gassed out. This is a five-round fight. This is 25 minutes of fighting. She can’t make championship weight like she claimed she was going to make. ‘Oh, I’m going to make 135 on the head.’ She said, ‘That wasn’t me making 136 on that last time, that was God.’ You’re going to need double the God. You have to make 135.0 on the head.
“She can’t even do that. The first fight is already lost. The second fight, she gassed out in three rounds. Come fight me for 25 minutes and you’ll see what it’s like to actually fight in championship rounds, making championship weight and fighting for the championship belt. She can’t even make it. … Kayla Harrison, get in line. I’ve got unfinished business to attend to. Everyone wants to say I dropped the ball for not calling out Kayla Harrison. Kayla Harrison just came to the party. Amanda Nunes is the big fight, the money fight, the fight that people want to see.”
Julianna Peña coach Mike Valle loves that Kayla Harrison seems to think she’ll easily take gold from the new UFC champ.
[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] and a large portion of the MMA community seem to believe it’s an inevitability that she will defeat [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] to claim the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
Not so fast.
Peña (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) recaptured the championship this month at UFC 307 with a split decision over Raquel Pennington in Salt Lake City. Earlier that night, two-time Olympic gold medalist Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) likely punched her ticket to a crack at gold with a victory over Ketlen Vieira.
Although Peña largely ignored Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the aftermath of the event and said she was “not impressed” by the performance while subsequently calling for Amanda Nunes to come out of retirement for a trilogy, all signs point to the showdown with Harrison being next.
Peña’s coach, Mike Valle from VFS Academy in Chicago, said his athlete will be ready if it is indeed Harrison. He doesn’t share the same negative slant of the two-time PFL season winner as Peña, but he does think Harrison is in for a rude awakening if she thinks it will be easy to snatch the belt.
“I can’t say that we weren’t impressed,” Valle told MMA Junkie on Friday. “She’s a great fighter. She’s very good in certain areas. It’s nothing that the world hasn’t seen. It’s not nothing we can’t come on top of. She’s good. But Julianna is good, too. When you get her in front of you, you realize how good she is. That’s what makes it very interesting. Whenever Harrison sees Julianna in front of her, she’s going to be like, ‘Oh my God. This girl is way better than what I think.’ And she’s going to be in tons of trouble. That’s what it is. That’s what makes the fight so interesting. All respect to her and her team. I’ve never disrespected her or her team. But I just can’t wait. If they sign a contact, we’ll go to work.”
Valle has heard it all before when it comes to Peña. She’s not skilled enough. Not athletic enough. Not powerful enough. Not dangerous enough. The criticisms can be endless in this industry, but Valle knows better than anyone what he has with “The Venezuelan Vixen” and is happy to let anyone continue to underestimate her.
“When you get that feeling, and you have someone across from you that’s not just going to fight with skills – we’re going to fight with a lot of will,” Valle said. “An unbreakable will. That says something to a person. I think that’s what it is. … You may see the skills and go, ‘OK, she lacks here and here.’ That’s fine. When you have her in front of you, you’re going to see how good she is. Then, on top of that, her will to push, will to go forward and to push. To have her on top of you or in your face all night, it says a lot about an athlete.”
Ultimately, Valle said he knows Peña’s biggest fights and toughest tests are on the horizon. Whether it’s the matchup with Harrison, a trilogy with Nunes or both in successive fashion, Valle is excited to dive into the challenge of game planning and finding a way for Peña to come out on top.
“Both of those fights represent something very interesting in their own way. I think a fight with Amanda would be great, but if it’s Harrison, cracking her is going to be – people think she’s invincible and just going out there and Julianna putting her stamp on it, I think it would be a great statement. From there, Amanda hopefully comes out of retirement. All three girls are amazing and it’s very interesting for MMA fans. Whichever one happens is going to be a great fight.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 307, where Julianna Peña reclaimed the women’s bantamweight title.
The latest pay-per-view event for the UFC hosted a pair of title fights, producing a new two-time champion.
In the main event of UFC 307, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] successfully defended his light heavyweight title by stopping [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] in a Fight of the Night battle. Pereira is already No. 1 in his division and in the P4P rankings, so he has nowhere to move. However, Rountree, even in a loss, moves up a few spots due to his stellar performance, moving from No. 12 to No. 10.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] emerged victorious in a controversial split decision win over [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] to win back the women’s bantamweight title. Peña entered the week at No. 2 and Pennington at No. 1, swapping places after Saturday’s result.
In another women’s bantamweight swap, No. 3 [autotag]Ketlen Viera[/autotag] lost to No. 4 [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag]. They swap rankings in this week’s update.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
Kayla Harrison isn’t surprised that Julianna Peña didn’t address her after reclaiming the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] isn’t surprised that [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] didn’t address her after reclaiming the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
“I think she’s just scared, got to make a lot of noise,” Harrison told TMZ. “I think she’ll do anything not to fight me, including call out – she’s probably going to call out Ronda Rousey next. I’m used to it. We’re blonde, and we did judo, so we must be just alike. From what I understand from my manager, I’m next.”
Harrison was asked who she’d rather fight next: Peña for the title or Nunes, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka said she has a plan.
“I want both,” Harrison said. “Can I not have both? I want to win the title. Give Amanda time to get back in shape and train. She can be training for me that whole time. I’ll go f*ck up Julianna real quick, and then Amanda and I can fight.”
Many thought Pennington was robbed against Peña and Harrison agrees – even though she admits that she didn’t get to watch the entire fight.
“I didn’t get to see the full fight, I haven’t gone back and watched the first round yet, but I thought that ‘Rocky’ (Pennington) won,” Harrison said. “I mean, it’s kind of like an unspoken rule: You’ve got to take the title. You don’t get to steal the title. You’ve got to take the title.
“And I looked on MMA Decisions and every single – like that never happened. I’ve never seen it where every single journalist agrees, and they all said that Raquel won it. I didn’t see the first round, so I can’t absolutely say.”
Where does women’s bantamweight go after Saturday’s UFC 307 results? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”
The landscape in the UFC women’s bantamweight division changed dramatically at UFC 307.
Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Salt Lake City hosted two key bouts at 135 pounds, with a championship fight between [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag], and what many expected to be a title eliminator in [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]. In the end, Peña regained her UFC belt in disputed fashion, and Harrison kept her undefeated status in the promotion.
Did Peña rightfully win the UFC belt, or was Pennington robbed from a decision win? Is Harrison the clear next challenger, or could [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] be lured back into competition?
MMA Junkie’s Brian Garcia, Nolan King, Mike Bohn, and host Gorgeous George analyze the updated landscape at women’s bantamweight and discuss how things could shake out in the near future.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
Raquel Pennington addressed her controversial championship loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 307 for the first time.
[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] doesn’t agree with the judges’ ruling of her UFC women’s bantamweight fight against [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag].
Pennington believes she deserved to retain her title, but in the end she lost a split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307 this past Saturday in Salt Lake City. Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) won one 48-47 scorecard but lost 48-47 to Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) on the two others.
Many fans agreed with Pennington and voiced their outrage on social media that the result went the other way. In an Instagram post Tuesday, Pennington addressed her defeat for the first time:
I’m home and I’m healthy. My heart hurts but my head is high! I do not feel I lost that fight but this is just another wild detour in this journey of mine. I will be back better than ever! I want the rematch stat! Regardless what an amazing fight week, surrounded by so much love, support and blessings. Memories that will last a lifetime. I’m full of gratitude and I want to send a shout out to all the people who stand behind me. My amazing group of coaches @jhostriking @jason_kutz @tylerlarsenbjj @mennyboy12 @antwon_burton3 and @evierae_jaktmuscle My training partners who put in work with me this camp Cory, @ryan.ashleigh and @jjaldrich My recovery team @sabrinabishopselman @cismrehab @peakbalancefamily My amazing management group @vaynersports @sarahzemonek @botemplin @kcoll0207 and my amazing wife @teciatorres and my entire family who has been my biggest support since day 1. To all my true fans out there I love each and every one of you. We will be back!!! ❤️🏆 #TeamRocky
The decision was highly controversial, with 25 media members scoring the bout for Pennington, one scoring it a draw, and one scoring it for Peña, according to MMADecisions.com.
With this result, Pennington, 36, saw her six-fight winning streak come to an end. She won the title that was vacated by Nunes when she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision in January. But she failed to make a successful title defense Saturday.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
Daniel Cormier thinks Julianna Peña should have addressed Kayla Harrison after UFC 307.
[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] should have addressed [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] after UFC 307.
Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated Raquel Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) by split decision to reclaim the bantamweight title in Saturday’s co-main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Earlier in the night, Harrison became No. 1 contender when she defeated Ketlen Vieira.
As Peña was speaking to Joe Rogan post fight in the octagon, a camera showed Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) listening in. But instead of mentioning Harrison’s name, Peña called for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes, which Cormier says was a mistake.
“I will say this: She dropped the ball on the callout,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I mean, Kayla’s on the screen. Say her name. Why no-sell the person that is clearly going to be your No. 1 contender? There is no world where she does not fight Kayla Harrison. She’s fighting her next.
“You might as well put the sell on it right now. Don’t wait until the fight is announced. Now you’re a step behind when you had the opportunity to be a step ahead going into your fight with Kayla Harrison, who will be the No. 1 contender for your championship as we go forward.”
Harrison was tested by Vieira, who made her taste blood for the first time in her MMA career. Peña later said she wasn’t impressed with Harrison’s performance, but Cormier thinks Harrison failing to completely dominate should have encouraged Peña to build the fight.
“Tonight, it’s not like Kayla Harrison looked the best,” Cormier said. “Kayla’s looked better. Tonight, she looked like a girl that needs to get takedowns and if she doesn’t, she is still in the very early stages of her striking.
“So Julianna Peña should’ve, after this performance, been more willing to say her name. At the end of the day, she becomes the champion again and Mike Valle and his team out at Valle Flow now have two UFC champions on their roster – massive for a gym out of Chicago that isn’t a massive, huge gym.”
Julianna Peña dismissed Kayla Harrison’s performance at UFC 307.
SALT LAKE CITY – [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] dismissed [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag]’s performance at UFC 307.
Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) reclaimed the bantamweight title when she edged out Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at Delta Center. Earlier in the night, Harrison picked up her second UFC win when she outgrappled Ketlan Vieira.
A split screen showed Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) listening to Peña’s post-fight interview in the octagon, but “The Venezuelan Vixen” instead called for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes. Peña insists on settling the score with Nunes, and says she expected a better performance from Harrison.
“I’ll tell you, I was warming up and focusing on my own fight, but with that being said, I had my coaches there watching the fight and kind of giving me the 411 on what was going down. We’re not impressed,” Peña told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference.
“She said she was going to put her elbow through her skull, and she was going to, you know, do all this damage. (Vieira) didn’t have a scratch on her. It was boring, and she didn’t do anything that jumped off the page like, ‘Ooh, the boogeyman,’ you know what I mean? So I was definitely, especially with hearing from my team, not impressed.”
Harrison was tested by Vieira, who split her head open with an elbow in the clinch. Vieira showed resistance, but Harrison eventually overwhelmed her. Peña thinks the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka was exposed.
“I definitely think that at some point or another, like Ronda (Rousey), 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,” Peña said. “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.”
Julianna Peña is once again champion after UFC 307, and now she’s going to be a big underdog in her first defense.
[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] waited more than two years to get back into the octagon for a chance to fight for the title, and that time paid off when she recaptured the women’s bantamweight belt from Raquel Pennington in the UFC 307 co-main event.
Although the sentiment from the overwhelming majority in the MMA community is that Peña (11-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was gifted the gold with a controversial split decision over Pennington at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, she is the winner nonetheless and is certainly going to bring more spice to the weight class.
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How long will Peña be able to hold the throne, though? Whether her Amanda Nunes trilogy request comes to life or Kayla Harrison gets her crack at the belt, it’s almost certain Peña will be a sizeable betting underdog when she attempts to defend for the first time.
Which direction is the division headed? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Peña’s future after her UFC 307 title victory.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.