Whatever Juliana Pena does, it’s never enough in the eyes of fans.
That’s exactly how “Venezuelan Vixen” feels four years after he achieved perhaps the biggest upset in UFC history, beating former two-division queen Amanda Nunez to win her first bantamweight world championship.
Having kickstarted her second run as a 135-pound champion and removed eight months, Pena faces one of the toughest tests of her career, facing a co-headlining UFC 316 card with two-time Olympic gold medalist and former two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison.
However, even if she is given Harrison her first defeat in the octagon against the odds, Pena is not sure it would be enough for fans to finally pay tribute to her name.
“I’m extremely proud to be from a small, close-knit community in Chicago,” Pena told UFC 316 Media Day. “Balal, you can be a training partner with Bahamondes, which is something special we continue to continue. We help each other, support each other, love each other, and I think that’s very important.
“I thought defeating the greatest of all time would give me that respect, but it wasn’t. So you never know. It’s never enough. No matter what you do, it’s never enough.
Will winning Kayla Harrison win Julianna Pena’s respect in the eyes of UFC fans?
Pena enters her first defense of the second round and takes the title in October with a roughly split-decisive victory over Raquel Pennington. That’s why fans are reluctant to give her the achievement she’s so much craving, in addition to the fact that five rounds of Sherac Nunes handed her over in the July 2022 rematch.
Can a big victory for Kayla Harrison change that?