Kayla Harrison floats future Julianna Pena title fight, urges her to stay active: ‘I can’t control it’
Ahead of her own return to action next weekend on the main card of UFC 307, bantamweight challenger, Kayla Harrison has urged the returning champion, Julianna Pena to find an active spell inside the Octagon if she manages to dethrone Raquel Pennington in Salt Lake City.
Harrison, who currently holds the number three rank in the official bantamweight pile, returns to action in an expected title-eliminator next weekend at the Delta Center at UFC 307, taking on perennial contender, Ketlen Vieira in a high-stakes matchup.
And in the night’s co-headliner, TUF features, Pennington and Pena square off in an undisputed bantamweight title fight in Utah, with the victor largely expected to land a fight with the winner of the above-mentioned pairing of Kayla Harrison and Ketlen Vieira.
Kayla Harrison urges Julianna Pena to remain active if she wins title at UFC 307
Sharing her thoughts on Pena’s return — who has been sidelined from the Octagon since a 2022 rematch loss against former two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes, Ohio grappling ace, Harrison urged the ex-champion to just stay active and look to defend her title if she begins a second reign.
“I try not to [think about inactivity], because control what you can control and trust the UFC,” Kayla Harrison told Kevin Iole during a recent interview. “Trust that they [the UFC] have a plan, but yeah, that would really p*ss me off. I’m looking to stay active so hopefully — all is well. I can’t control it. It’s out of my hands, but yeah.”
Harrison, a former two-time lightweight tournament winner in the PFL (Professional Fighters League) as well as a two-time Olympic gold medal winner in Judo, made her long-anticipated Octagon bow on the preliminary card of UFC 300 back in April, stopping former champion, Holly Holm with a dominant second round rear-naked choke win Las Vegas, Nevada.
