Kayla Harrison Doesn’t Need Good Striking to Beat Julianna Pena, Guarantees UFC Fighter
Miranda Maverick thinks Kayla Harrison will dethrone Julianna Pena, even with subpar striking.
Over the years, Harrison has become one of the most dominant female fighters in MMA history, winning back-to-back PFL championships and dominating in her first two appearances under the UFC banner. Now, Harrison finds herself as the No. 2 ranked contender in the bantamweight division and is likely the next woman in line to challenge reigning 135-pound queen Julianna Pena.
‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ reclaimed the title in October via a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307.
Maverick claims Kayla Harrison’s victory over Pena is ‘guaranteed’
Aside from Larissa Pacheco, Pena could very well be the best striker Harrison has ever faced, but according to Maverick, none of that will matter once it’s time for the two to step inside the Octagon.
“I think Kayla will win,” Maverick told Inside Fighting. “I think her striking is, uh, not very good and hasn’t seemed to improve very much over time, but I think she’ll win regardless. I think she’ll get it to the ground, and Pena won’t be getting back up. Um, and yeah, Pena will lose her title if she goes against Kayla. Guaranteed.”
No official announcements have been made regarding their potential showdown, but considering Pena has only competed three times since 2021, we could be waiting a while.
Pena is 8-3 in the UFC with her losses coming against former champions Valentina Shevchenko, Germain de Randamie, and Amanda Nunes.
Harrison is 18-1 in her MMA career, her only loss coming against Pacheco at the 2022 PFL World Championship. The following year, Harrison bounced back with a dominant win over Aspen Ladd before exiting the promotion and signing with the UFC. In 2024, she earned wins over Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira.
