UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña seemingly appreciated Kayla Harrison's presence in Salt Lake City earlier this month.
Peña returned to the 135-pound mountaintop in the co-main event of the UFC 307 pay-per-view on Oct. 5, narrowly outpointing Raquel Pennington in what marked a widely debated results.
Harrison, meanwhile, staked her claim for a shot against the winner earlier in the night when she got the better of Ketlen Vieira to move to 2-0 under the UFC banner.
While the champ has attempted to set her sights on the retired Amanda Nunes instead, all signs point toward Harrison getting her first title shot in 2025. And given how the pair exchanged words at the UFC 307 press conference, the lead-up could be entertaining.
"The Venezuelan Vixen" has had plenty of negative things to say about the two-time Olympic gold medalist since her arrival to the promotion and in the aftermath of UFC 307. She did, however, have a rare compliment for her related to the presser during an appearance on Monday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned.
When discussing the heated build-up that many are expecting to her likely defense opposite Harrison, Peña admitted that having a willing dance partner in the trash-talking realm makes for a nice change of pace.
It is so refreshing to finally have someone that can string a sentence together, and that speaks the language, and that understands the game of frickin' — we are fist-fighting in a steel cage and it's important for people to be interested in it," Peña said. "Like I said, block of wood Raquel, the only reason she started talking crap out of nowhere is because she's realizing that's what you need to do to gain interest in the fight.
You're right, it is great to finally have somebody who is going to banter back and forth with me," Peña continued. "Now all of these girls are starting to understand what you need to do. It's like, they're taking a page out of my book to do it, and that's great. Finally, somebody who is going to play ball.
It remains to be seen when the pair can throw verbal jibes at one another face-to-face ahead of their own fight, but the UFC 307 presser certainly provided a nice appetizer.
For now, both women will be recovering from their outings in Utah. While Harrison appears willing to return to camp soon, Peña has pointed to International Fight Week in mid-2025 as a possible return date for her reign's opening defense.
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