Khabib Nurmagomedov wasn’t a fan of Julianna Peña’s career-best victory over Amanda Nunes.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña reclaimed the division’s throne when she outpointed Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 last year. It marked Peña’s return to the cage after back-to-back fights with Amanda Nunes, including her all-time upset victory at UFC 269.
Peña’s submission of Nunes at UFC 269 is regarded by many as one of the most stunning upsets in UFC history. The victory happened at a time when Nunes seemed unbeatable; winning belts in multiple divisions with little resistance.
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov was the exception among the strong reactions to Peña’s victory.
Khabib Nurmagomedov infuriated Julianna Peña with cold reaction to Amanda Nunes upset
At an Eagle FC press conference, Nurmagomedov was asked about his thoughts on women’s MMA, and dismissed Peña’s victory.
“We can watch what Julianna Peña did with Amanda Nunes,” Nurmagomedov began.
“But Julianna Peña, she is not like the greatest or something like that. She just beat Amanda Nunes.
“We can watch not many good [female] fighters all around the world. There are only like five or six of them.” (h/t talkSPORT)
In an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Peña responded to Nurmagomedov’s comments.
“I saw in a presser that they asked [Nurmagomedov] a question and he was just completely downgrading the whole win and everything like that… it totally broke my heart,” Peña said.
“I was like, ‘Dude, you’re breaking my heart, man’. He must be friends with Kayla Harrison or something,” Peña continued. “I don’t know. Because he was like, ‘If this is the top of women’s division, it’s a joke.’
“I mean, it wasn’t very nice. I didn’t appreciate it, Khabib.”
Nurmagomedov has also made controversial remarks about ring girls in combat sports, calling them ‘pointless’. The remarks infuriated UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, calling them ‘bad and wrong’.
Peña went on to lose to Nunes in their UFC 277 rematch by unanimous decision. A trilogy bout was set for UFC 289 before Peña withdrew due to injury from what would end up being Nunes’s retirement fight.
Nurmagomedov entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 after retiring from MMA in 2020. His final fight was a successful lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Julianna Peña defended Ronda Rousey against swipes from UFC 316 foe Kayla Harrison
Peña will begin her second women’s bantamweight title reign against former PFL superstar Kayla Harrison at UFC 316 this weekend. The two have traded barbs in the weeks leading up to the fight, including over Ronda Rousey‘s UFC legacy.
In a recent joint interview with ESPN, Harrison downplayed Rousey’s accomplishments, touting her run at Olympic gold in women’s judo. Peña defended Rousey and reminded Harrison of her 2005 showdown on the mats with Rousey that didn’t go her way.
Harrison earned the UFC bantamweight title shot after wins over Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira following her signing in 2024. Before joining the UFC roster, Harrison won multiple world championship titles in PFL.