Julianna Pena’s beef with Raquel Pennington goes back to their time on TUF: ‘Time for her to get another a** whooping’

Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington are plenty familiar with one another despite never actually stepping foot inside the Octagon together.

More than a decade ago, Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington introduced themselves to the world as part of the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Despite both fighters being drafted to the same team, the two never appeared to get along with one another. Now, with the two of them seemingly on a collision course in the bantamweight division, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has one goal in mind; settling the score with her turncoat TUF teammate.

“I’ve never forgot about how horribly she talked about me in the house, and then accused me of being a brat, because I wouldn’t go hang out with them at nighttime while they were sitting around a campfire talking crap about me,” Peña said on The MMA Hour. “Like, you’re not my friend. And I found that out very quickly when we were living together for seven weeks.”

Julianna Pena Details the Tension Between Herself and Raquel Pennington in the TUF House

Julianna Pena went on to win TUF 18 while Raquel Pennington would come up short in the semi-final round, dropping a unanimous decision to Jessica Rakoczy. During their time together as part of Miesha Tate’s team, Pena accused ‘Rocky’ of drinking and partying all hours of the night even before she was eliminated from the competition.

“She’s sleeping up above me,” Peña said. “Before she was eliminated from the competition, she was staying up all night until, like, three in the morning, drinking and having a good time with everybody else that was eliminated from the competition. So she wouldn’t come to bed till, like, the wee hours. And then when Monday would roll around, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, every single day, we’re training two times a day, she wouldn’t come to practice. She was sleeping in, because she had stayed up the night before.

“So in the morning time, because we’re the first team to go into the gym that day — we had first practices — I’m waking up to get my medicine, I’m waking up to get my bags together, I’m waking up to start my day, but she’s mad about me doing that. So then she started to say that I’m like being all loud on purpose.

“We’re living on top of each other. We literally got the smallest room with three chicks in one room. We’re living on top of each other, and it’s not my fault that you stayed up all night and that you’re dragging ass in the morning and not even coming to practice. And again, this was before she was eliminated from the competition” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Initially, Julianna Pena chalked up their tension to the limited living quarters and their different approaches to the competition. However, during a segment where the women interviewed one another, Pena was prompted to ask ‘Rocky’ who she would most like to fight inside the house. Pennington immediately called out Pena.

“And I said, why me? Raquel, I put you in my high heels,” Peña said. “I did your makeup so beautiful. I gave you my dresses and taught you how to walk like a lady, and now you’re going to kick me out of the house? For what? This is such BS. And she said it was because I was too loud, and I said, ‘I’m just going to practice, dude, like I don’t even know what you’re talking about.’

“So anyways, she wasn’t able to get past Jessica Rakoczy … and that was somebody that I dominated and that I finished. And so, like I said, we’ve had this brewing for a long time now, and it’s a fight that’s been needing to happen for a very long time, since 2013. I haven’t forgot about it.”

Julianna Pena Would Prefer to Fight ‘Rocky’ Over Mayra Bueno Silva for the Bantamweight Title

With Mayra Bueno Silva’s impressive submission victory over ex-champion Holly Holm earlier this month, many have suggested that she, and not Raquel Pennington, is the woman that should be fighting Julianna Pena for the vacant women’s bantamweight world title. However, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ doesn’t see it that way, suggesting that a fight with ‘Rocky’ would not only be bigger but because there are some personal matters that still need attending with her former TUF castmate.

“I think that, yeah, it is [a bigger fight], because she is on a five-fight winning streak and she’s been crying about getting a title shot since the last time that she quit on the stool,” Peña said. “So it’s about time for her to get another a** whooping, I would assume.”

Who would you like to see Julianna Pena square off with for the vacant 135-pound crown?