One of UFC Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña's peers isn't giving her much of a chance against the charging Kayla Harrison.
Peña and Harrison appear to be on a collision course for 2025 after their respective victories at the UFC 307 pay-per-view in Salt Lake City this past October.
While the former regained the 135-pound gold in the co-main event by narrowly and controversially outpointing Raquel Pennington, the ex-PFL standout moved to 2-0 in the Octagon with a victory over Ketlen Vieira.
Harrison had already been pointed to as a worthy title challenger after she emphatically dispatched former champ Holly Holm by way of submission on debut at UFC 300. But having added another name to her record's win column after being made to fight another contender, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo is widely seen as next in line.
"The Venezuelan Vixen," however, instead called out longtime rival Amanda Nunes following her victory. And according to one UFC fighter, that's perhaps smart if she wants to prolong her reign...
During a recent interview with InsideFighting, formerly ranked flyweight Miranda Maverick gave her assessment of the expected next championship contest at 135 pounds.
Suffice to say, her view won't make for good reading in the Peña household.
I think Kayla will win," Maverick said. "I think her striking is not very good and hasn’t seemed to improve very much over time, but I think she’ll win regardless. I think she’ll get it to the ground, and Peña won’t be getting back up. Yeah, Peña will lose her title if she goes against Kayla, guaranteed.
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While an opponent for the first defense of Peña's second stint on the bantamweight throne has not been confirmed, she has pointed to International Fight Week in mid-2025 as her desired return date.