Julianna Pena will need to overcome sizable underdog odds if her title reign is to continue beyond UFC 316.
Pena will co-headline Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Newark, New Jersey, making her first defense of the women’s bantamweight belt since winning it back last October.
After narrowly getting past Raquel Pennington, Pena will next fight Kayla Harrison, tasked with ending the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s charge toward UFC gold after her perfect 2-0 start in the Octagon.
‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ is being widely counted out, but she’s certainly no stranger to upsetting odds. One of the greatest UFC upsets of all time was Pena’s shock submission win over Amanda Nunes.
And ahead of her chance to somewhat repeat the feat, one of the few big names who predicted the UFC 269 result is in the champion’s corner once again.
Chael Sonnen picks Julianna Pena to upset the odds at UFC 316 — again
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, UFC legend Chael Sonnen revealed his “official prediction” for Saturday’s UFC 316 co-main event.
After recalling why he was “the only” prominent supporter of Pena in the lead-up to her first title shot against Nunes, ‘The Bad Guy’ suggested a similar scenario has convinced him to back the 35-year-old again.
“My official prediction…guys, I am going with Julianna,” Sonnen said. “Julianna was a lamb locking in to slaughter. Her opponent was Amanda Nunes. … I’m on the phone with Julianna…(she) told me, ‘Chael, I am going to beat her.’
“She then broke down why. She broke down things about the takedown…something she had noticed from top position that Amanda struggled with. But in the end, I’m looking Julianna right in the eye and she tells me, ‘I am going to win this fight.’
“I went to the media, it was time to pick, and I said Julianna. It’s amongst the top three upsets of all time. I’m on ESPN after, Jon Anik said, ‘Chael, you’re the only one I’ve heard of that said Julianna was gonna win, the only one amongst us that got it right. Tell us, how did you know?’
“I had no analysis. I just had a 10-year-plus relationship with a girl named Julianna who lives just one state over looking in my eye and telling me,” Sonnen continued. “I asked Julianna Pena, face to face, ‘Are you going to beat Kayla Harrison?’ Julianna told me in the same tone she told me about Nunes, ‘I’m going to win this fight.'”
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Chael Sonnen isn’t the only big name backing Julianna Pena at UFC 316
Second time around, Sonnen is not alone with his prediction.
Those who are picking against two-time PFL champion Harrison in her first UFC title shot have largely pointed to concerns over her weight cut.
Flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko, however, sees a different reason to lean the way of the defending champ, as she explained on ESPN’s UFC Post Show on May 31.
“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. You will face different challenges, and I feel the same way (about this fight).
“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,” Shevchenko added. “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.”
Should Pena prove Sonnen and Shevchenko correct come fight night in Newark, perhaps ‘Bullet’ will be among the opponent options for the bantamweight champ down the line.
While Shevchenko is expected to have her sights on another titleholder in Zhang Weili soon enough, talk of her own two-division pursuit has grown, especially with a woman whom she’s already defeated currently occupying the throne at 135 pounds.