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Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison have plenty to argue about ahead of their UFC 316 co-main event clash. During a recent heated debate, the pair argued over the legacy of the UFC's inaugural women's bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey.
Harrison didn’t hold back when comparing herself to Rousey during a preview show on ESPN MMA. She dismissed the comparisons by pointing to her back-to-back Olympic golds in Judo, as opposed to Rousey’s single bronze win in the 2008 competitions in Beijing.
She said:
“First of all, I’m not Ronda because Ronda couldn’t win an Olympic gold medal… she doesn’t hold a candle to my career and it doesn’t matter because it’s not about that.”
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However, Pena wasn’t having it and clapped back by defending Rousey’s legacy. She went on to claim that Rousey "beat" Harrison, although she didn't detail the allegations further. She said:
“She beat you! She beat you didn’t she? Wasn’t it your manager that was literally saying you’re gonna surpass all of Ronda’s accomplishments? You haven’t been able to do that yet.”
Check out the full exchange below:
Harrison has claimed several times in the past that she's determined to become the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. During a past back-and-forth with fellow Ali Abdelaziz-founded Dominance MMA Management athlete Henry Cejudo, Harrison said that she's focused on cementing her legacy as the greatest combat sports athlete of all time.
Pena was seemingly referencing these comments and Abdelaziz's past assertion that the former PFL star will be the greatest female fighter of all time. Pena, meanwhile, isn't sold on the hype around Harrison and accused the American of dodging tough opponents like Amanda Nunes.
She also wants to cement her status as the champion of the women's bantamweight division after a controversial win against Raquel Pennington at UFC 307. Pena’s been in the UFC trenches for over a decade and has gone toe-to-toe with names like Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko.
