Jon Anik gets honest about "mean and nasty" Julianna Pena seemingly being underestimated ahead of Kayla Harrison fight

Jon Anik urged everyone not to underestimate Julianna Pena in her title fight against Kayla Harrison. Anik expressed his admiration for Pena's resilience inside the cage, while citing his excitement for women's bantamweight matchup.

Pena is set to make her octagon return in the co-main event of UFC 316, where she defends her 135 pound belt defense against Harrison. The pay-per-view will take place this weekend at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Many expect Harrison to dethrone Pena, who enters the title bout as an underdog. However, Anik believes the reigning champion has the potential to cause an upset. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, the 46-year-old, who will return as a commentator alongside Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, lauded Pena's tenacity, saying:

''I just recently went back and watched Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 1, and that’s all the film I need to watch right now. Rick Little has said, superlative to me over the years, just how mean and nasty she is. And man or woman, she is just a nasty f*cking prick, and I just think toughness, plus cardio, plus self-belief, plus just the desire to be in the trenches, right?...But I think for me, I’m just really encouraged by Juliana Pena’s experience, her doggedness, and her sort of — as trite as it sounds — never say die attitude.”

Check out Jon Anik's comments below:

Notably, Pena was also the underdog in her first title fight against former double champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 in 2021. However, the 35-year-old stunned the entire MMA community and secured a second round submission win over Nunes.

'The Venezuelan Vixen' made her comeback after two years and dethroned Raquel Pennington by securing a split decision win at UFC 307 last year.

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Valentina Shevchenko backs Julianna Pena to defeat Kayla Harrison at UFC 316

Julianna Pena will defend her bantamweight throne against Kayla Harrison at UFC 316. Ahead of the title fight, women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko offered her thoughts on the matchup during a recent conversation with ESPN MMA.

Shevchenko, who previously defeated Pena in 2017, praised her former opponent's skills inside the cage and shared her prediction, saying:

''Julianna, she possesses this ability to win, to turn the fight from a position where she's uncomfortable to comfortable and win the fight...Me being a former opponent of Julianna, on the personal side, I definitely like her style and...I wish both fighters a lot of success to win, but I will be rooting for Julianna. I think she deserves, and I think she has everything to win''

Check out Valentina Shevchenko's comments below (2:28):