Julianna Pena has once again been backed to pull off an underdog victory when she takes on Kayla Harrison this Saturday at UFC 316.
At UFC 316 this coming Saturday, Kayla Harrison will finally fight for a UFC title when she takes on the women’s bantamweight champion, Julianna Pena.
Pena reclaimed the 135lb title when she picked up a split decision win over Raquel Pennington following Amanda Nunes’ shock retirement following her UFC 289 win over Irene Aldana.
Harrison on the other hand has earned her title shot after a comprehensive debut win over Holly Holm at UFC 300, followed by a decision win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.
Valentina Shevchenko predicts Pena to beat Harrison at UFC 316
Harrison is widely regarded as one of the most dominant females in women’s MMA history because of her judoka background and heavy ground-and-pound.
When Harrison was able to use elbows for the first time in her career, she left her opponent in a pool of her own blood, and that is an area she will likely look to dominate over Pena.
Despite Harrison’s continued showcase of dominance, the consensus greatest women’s fighter of all time, Valentina Shevchenko, has picked ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ to retain her title in Newark, New Jersey.
“If we compare it to my previous fight against Manon (Fiorot), she had 12 wins without (a break) and she was thinking that a championship fight was gonna be the same but it’s not the same,” Shevchenko told ESPN MMA.
“You will face different challenges and I feel the same way (about this fight), this is my main event at UFC 316, it’s Julianna Pena against Kayla Harrison.
“I feel the same way that it’s gonna be a completely different fight for Kayla Harrison and she will feel completely different because Julianna, she possesses this ability to win and to turn a fight from a position where she’s uncomfortable to being comfortable, she isn’t scared of grappling.
“She can submit from any position… It’s very hard to take her down. Me being a former opponent of Julianna, I definitely like her style and like her a lot… I will be rooting for Julianna… Julianna will do everything double to win,” Shevchenko continued.
Julianna Pena was submitted by Shevchenko in 2017
Just a few fights into her UFC career after earning a contract by winning The Ultimate Fighter, Pena was matched up against ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko, who seemed to be on a clear path to the title.
This marked Pena’s first main event in the promotion and she was subsequently submitted in round two after Shevchenko caught her in a brutal armbar.
With a win over Harrison at UFC 316, Pena will be undoubtedly confident of pulling Nunes out of retirement for them to finally settle their historic rivalry.