Pena blasts Pennington's UFC 297 win, calls new champ 'boring block of wood'

Count Julianna Pena among those unimpressed by Raquel Pennington’s victory over Mayra Bueno Silva this past weekend in the UFC 297 co-main event.

The vocal former champion felt “nobody won (and) the fans lost” and described the new titleholder Pennington as “a boring block of wood” after the unanimous decision that earned her the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight title.

“It was a snooze-fest. I was not impressed,” Pena told Ariel Helwani Monday afternoon on The MMA Hour. “I definitely thought it was gonna be a little bit better. I think that it was unfortunate both girls had each other dead to rights (at different parts of the fight) and still couldn’t finish one another, so that was pretty annoying.”

Pena kept referring to Saturday’s vacant championship bout as an “interim title” and said she and Pennington will fight for the “real belt” in the summer.

The UFC has yet to officially confirm Pennington vs. Pena or set a date for their presumed championship scrap, but barring any setbacks from either camp this is the next fight fans can expect to see.

“That’s the fight that makes sense,” Pennington said in Toronto at her UFC 297 post-fight press conference. “I honestly thought that for the world title, it was going to be me and Julianna, but she’s still injured. That relationship just goes back to 2013 when we were both back on The Ultimate Fighter. Let’s just say I learned Julianna’s personality then, and it’s kind of one of those ones that you’re your own person, you stay your way and I’ll stay mine, but you get under my damn skin and I’ve been waiting for that fight for 13 years whether the title is on the line or not.”

Both women got their initial shot at UFC contracts through The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate reality series more than 10 years ago yet the two didn’t fight each other during that competition and have never stood across from one another in the Octagon.

Pena, who laughed off Pennington’s post-fight comments and said she sounded “delusional” making them, won TUF more than a decade ago by beating Jessica Rakoczy in the finals, the fighter Pennington lost to in the semifinals. Pena recalled Dana White had criticized Pennington’s 2013 TUF semifinals performance, saying she should’ve let her hands go, to which the fighter agreed. 

White and Pennington made similar comments following Saturday’s result, which the UFC president admitted was not a fan-friendly contest.

“Some things never change,” Pena said with a huge smile. “I mean golly throw your hands. I’ve never seen anything like it. I really haven’t. It’s some weird thing where she doesn’t actually want to fight. She wants to be glued to you.”

Pena said Pennington lacks the type of killer instinct and finishing prowess she possesses. Pennington has 10 wins since 2016, nine of which have been via decision and three of those by split decision. Four of Pena’s seven UFC wins have been by stoppage including submissions of Amanda Nunes and Sara McMann.

Pena, 34, is still ranked as the division’s No. 1 contender despite not competing since losing her rematch with Nunes at UFC 277 in July of 2022. Pena originally won the title at UFC 269 in 2021 when she completed one of the biggest upsets in UFC championship history.

One of only two women to defeat Nunes in the UFC, Pena was forced to withdraw from a scheduled UFC 289 trilogy bout with Nunes due to broken ribs. Nunes fought and defeated Irene Aldana instead and announced her retirement following her 11th career win in a UFC title fight.

Nunes was in attendance at Scotiabank Arena watching Pennington get her hand raised and was interviewed on the post-fight show where she hinted she may not have competed for the final time.

“I don’t know,” Nunes said when asked about a possible return to competition. “We never know. I’m a fighter and this is my job. I love this so much. I don’t know. I enjoy as well not being in the gym every day and having a normal life … but I’m still healthy and powerful, smart, think like a champion. I still feel like a champion, so we’ll see.”

Pennington, 35, from Colorado Springs, Col., lost by fifth-round TKO to Nunes in their 2018 title fight, and Pena believes Nunes was seeing dollar signs watching a fighter she has previously dominated and finished be named the new champion.

Pena said Monday she believes it’s only a matter of time before Nunes will make a comeback. She described a third fight with Nunes as the biggest possible fight the division could put together. Pena has since recovered from her rib injury and said she is training at 100 per cent, mentioned her ideal return would be in June or July.