Spokane native Julianna Peña set to defend bantamweight title against UFC newcomer Kayla Harrison on Saturday
Defending her UFC women’s bantamweight belt for the second time, Spokane native Julianna Peña will face off against two-time Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison on Saturday.
Following her split decision win against Raquel Pennington in October, Peña (13-5) called on former UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (23-5) to come out of retirement.
When she refused, the “Venezuelan Vixen” had to settle for UFC newcomer Harrison (18-1).
Coming from the Professional Fighters League, Harrison fought twice in the UFC before she was given a shot at the championship title – and she made her position on fighting Peña clear: They are not equals.
“(Harrison) said that the media was going to catch a case for giving me this grand illusion that I could stand inside the octagon and face her, and that they were going to have blood on their hands for giving me that delusion,” Peña said. “I absolutely took that very personally, and it’s been on ever since.”
Still, Peña, 35, thinks the two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion, 34, has earned the title shot despite being a UFC newcomer.
“(Harrison) being in the (bantamweight) division is such a great thing – not to mention that I have an opponent that is willing to verbally spar back and forth with me,” Peña said, something that prior opponents have been more reluctant to do before their fights, she added.
Despite Peña fighting – and defeating – big names in MMA such as Nunes and Raquel Pennington (16-9), the odds are stacked against the Mt. Spokane High graduate.
Peña stands 2 inches shorter than Harrison, but does have a 3-inch reach advantage and 2-inch leg reach advantage. Peña also walks into the cage healthy and with an easier weight cut than Harrison’s 30-pound cut.
Though Harrison has successfully fought twice at 135, this will be her first five-round scheduled fight at bantamweight. In the PFL, she fought at 155.
Both athletes are dangerous on the ground. Six of Peña’s 12 wins and seven of Harrison’s 18 victories have come via submission.
Half of Harrison’s fights have ended in the first round, but that doesn’t phase Peña, who hopes to see the fight end somewhere in the middle.
Peña foresees the fight ending via submission, though she’s always looking to add a knockout to her resume.
“The truth is that I think that I see myself more as getting this win via submission,” Peña said.
For this camp, she hired Max Schneider – one of Harrison’s former training partners – to help her with her judo defense.
“Anti-judo,” according to Peña.
Training aside, Peña’s best asset, she said, will be her mindset leading into the fight.
“It’s always going to come down to who wants it and who can enforce their will,” Peña said.
Fight after fight, Peña has proven her grit and resilience in the cage no matter who she was fighting. Win or lose, as a fighter, Peña has been characterized by her drive to win.
“I have this ability within myself to rise to the occasion … I’ve been in there with much more well-rounded fighters,” Peña said. “I fight scarier people in the gym for free on a daily basis.”
An underdog from when she began her UFC career on the Ultimate Fighter to now, Peña doesn’t care if people underestimate her.
“I have nothing to lose and everything to gain in this fight,” Peña said.
The odds were stacked against her when she claimed the bantamweight belt for the first time against Nunes in 2021, again when she regained her belt in 2024 against Pennington, and now in her fourth fight for the belt.
“I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t the underdog,” Peña said. “Nothing brings me more joy than to ruin people’s nights.”
UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs O’Malley 2 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main event starts at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+ via pay-per-view.