Nunes is the UFC money fight, not Harrison and weight fights

Julianna Pena questions Kayla Harrison’s readiness as a title challenger.

Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated Raquel Pennington to regain the bantamweight title at UFC 307 less than two weeks ago. Earlier in the evening, Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) defeated Ketlen Vieira to emerge as the top contender.

However, Peña insists on completing her trilogy with Amanda Nunes. The pair split their two title appearances, but Nunes was eliminated before they could fight a third time. Harrison revealed that she peed blood during her weight cut for UFC 307 and will likely need some time off before her next fight.

Peña jumped at the opportunity and said Harrison wasn’t ready for a title shot.

“The girl wants to take some time off because she even knows she can’t make the weight and that she’s not a legitimate 135,” Peña told MMA Today. “It’s too big. Obviously, she can’t make it to the first fight that makes it into the octagon. She needs a break. That’s a loss for me.”

Peña was also not impressed with Harrison’s performance against Vieira, where she defeated the Brazilian but tasted blood for the first time in her career. “The Venezuelan Vixen” is ready to fight Harrison next, but only if Nunes decides to wait.

“Secondly, I didn’t see anything in her fight against Ketlen Vieira that was like, ‘Oh, a world champion.’ “Oh my God, I’m terrified: Kayla Harrison,” Peña said. “Give me a break. She went out three weeks early and still gassed. This is a five round fight. That’s 25 minutes of fighting. She can’t reach the championship weight she claimed. “Oh, I’m going to do 135 on my head.” She said, “It wasn’t me who did 136 last time, it was God.” You’re going to need the double God. On the head you have to do 135.0.

“She can’t even do that. The first fight has already been lost. In the second fight she was eliminated in three rounds. Come fight me for 25 minutes and you’ll see what it’s like to actually fight in championship rounds, make championship weight and fight for the championship belt. She can’t even do it. …Kayla Harrison, get in line. I have unfinished business to attend to. Everyone wants to say I dropped the ball because I didn’t call out Kayla Harrison. Kayla Harrison just arrived at the party. Amanda Nunes is the big fight, the money fight, the fight that people want to see.”