Julianna Peña releases statement following UFC 316 loss, Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes faceoff: ‘I’m calling dibs on the winner’
Alexander K. Lee is an editor for MMA Fighting who has been covering combat sports since 2014.
Julianna Peña expects to still be in the championship conversation whenever she returns to action.
“The Venezuelan Vixen” fell short in the first defense of her second bantamweight championship reign Saturday at UFC 316, where she was submitted by Kayla Harrison in the evening’s co-main event. Afterwards, Harrison called returning legend Amanda Nunes out from the crowd to face off with her in the cage and lay the groundwork for a dream match between two of the most accomplished women in the history of combat sports.
Regardless of how that fight goes, the 35-year-old Peña plans to be next in line. She released a statement Sunday addressing the loss and letting her rivals know she wants the winner of their upcoming matchup.
“Time to get healed up and get ready for her next fight because I’m calling dibs on the winner!” Peña wrote on Instagram. See her post below.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get the job done,” Peña wrote. “I’m super disappointed, but hats off to Kayla on her win!”
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Peña is now 0-2 in UFC title defenses across two stints with the bantamweight belt. She pulled off a legendary upset of Nunes at UFC 269 only to drop the title back to “The Lioness” in their immediate rematch seven months later. Peña won the title again with a contentious split decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 this past October, but again fell as champion when she ran into Harrison this past Saturday.
No official announcement has been made yet for Harrison vs. Nunes, but there’s every reason to assume the bout will be formally booked sometime this year and take place either in late 2025 or early 2026.
Harrison improved to 3-0 in the UFC and 19-1 overall with her dominant win over Peña. The 34-year-old Ohio native joins Henry Cejudo as the only Olympic champions to also become UFC champions, with Harrison having twice won Olympic gold. She launched her career in PFL, where she won two league tournaments competing at 155 pounds.
Nunes, 37, a former two-division UFC champion at bantamweight and featherweight, recently announced she was coming out of retirement. She initially hung up the gloves in 2023 following a win over Irene Aldana, her sixth successful bantamweight title defense overall. Since 2014, Nunes has compiled a 14-1 record, with her lone loss coming at the hands of Peña.
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