Julianna Pena on Ronda Rousey: I wanted to "dethrone her"
Recently, Julianna Pena expressed her discontentment with not being able to “dethrone” former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and threatened to quit the UFC if not given a title shot.
The No. 2 women’s bantamweight contender, Julianna Pena, is undefeated in the UFC. She also takes on Valentina Shevchenko on January 28 at UFC on Fox 23 in a possible title elimination bout, with the winner facing the reigning 135-pound champion, Amanda Nunes.
Although her matchup against Shevchenko will mark her fifth fight in the UFC, the “Venezuelan Vixan” vowed to “raise Hell” if she was denied a title shot. While recently appearing on the 5ive Rounds Podcast (h/t MMA Fighting), Pena elaborated on her issues with the UFC brass.
“I have beaten everybody that they’ve put in front of me. I’ve yet to lose. I’ve still not been able to fight for a title. These girls coming off of knockouts and they get to fight for the title again… If I don’t get a title shot, I quit.”
Speaking of title shots, while appearing on Toe-2-Toe on SiriusXM Rush with Brian Stann, Pena seethed at not being able to fight former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
“It drives me crazy that she’s (Rousey) been dodging me this whole time and that I wasn’t the one to be able to dethrone her. She’s been getting everything handed to her because her name is Ronda Rousey, and she’s been brought up to be this glorious god that was untouchable…”
The “dodging” claim, however, is somewhat suspect. Ever since Rousey entered the UFC as champion, she has fought former MMA champions of other organizations, an Olympic gold medalist, and a multiple-time world boxing champion. Pena’s list of victories has not been as impressive. Her biggest win was a back and forth battle against Cat Zingano, who Rousey submitted in just 14 seconds.
However, in just two weeks, Pena will have the opportunity to dispatch the No. 1 contender and stake her claim as the challenger to Nunes’ bantamweight title—something that she has long awaited.
More from FanSided
This article originally appeared on 
