Julianna Pena says her next fight is about more than the title.
The former bantamweight champion will challenge the current queen of the 135lb division in a fight years in the making at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday night.
Pena has wanted to fight Raquel Pennington for a long timeGetty
Pena first crossed paths with Raquel Pennington on The Ultimate Fighter.
In 2013, they were both members of Miesha’s Tate team and battled it out for a UFC contract with a group of fighters coached by MMA legend Ronda Rousey.
As part of the show, Pena, Pennington and all the other UFC hopefuls lived together in a house, with the UFC 307 fighters even sharing the same bedroom.
Pena ended up winning the show, but she didn’t get to face Pennington because the American suffered a shock decision defeat to Jessica Rakoczy in the semi-final.
More than a decade later, they will finally meet in a fight that ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has always wanted because of the way Pennington treated her during that period.
“Raquel and I have had our history of little spats,” Pena told CBS Sports.
“If you watch ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ she was doing things and saying things that I didn’t agree with.
“I don’t know if you saw that Netflix series ‘Worst Roommate Ever’ – where they just have these like terrible roommates.
“And I’m like, ‘I’m doing all of your dishes, I’m giving you makeovers, I’m teaching you how to walk like a runway model. Why are you so horrible to me? Why are you making my life a living hell?’
“For me, it’s just like what do you do when you’re doing everybody’s dishes and living with the worst roommate ever. You just want to slap them.
Pena and Pennington didn’t get along on TUF 18Getty
Pena ended up winning the show before ending Amanda Nunes’ dominant reignGETTY
“It’s one of those things where I would just much rather get it over with.
“This has been 13 [11] years in the making, and it’s time for the worst roommate ever to get their due justice.”
Pena famously upset Amanda Nunes to become a UFC champion in 2021.
The Brazilian MMA icon got the better of her when they rematched in 2022, and Pena has been sidelined due to various injuries ever since.
Meanwhile, Pennington has put together a six-fight winning run that culminated in her outpointing Mayra Bueno Silva to claim the bantamweight belt after Nunes retired and made it vacant.
‘Rocky’ is looking forward to shutting up Pena once and for all.
“She has a master’s degree in yap-ology,” Pennington told MMA Fighting.
“Like, she talks, and she keeps herself relevant, but I don’t understand how this girl can stay injured and then she comes back and all of a sudden, she’s getting a big fight.
Pennington recently became a UFC champion for the first timeGetty
“And then she’s injured and then she comes back and she’s getting something else and it’s like, ‘Who’s managing you? Like what are you doing here?’
“Whatever you’re doing, great, it’s working for you, congratulations, you had like whatever for yourself, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
