July 13, 2019; Sacramento, CA, USA; Julianna Pena (red gloves) fights Nicco Montano (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night-Sacramento at Golden 1 Center. Pena defeated Montano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27). Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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Julianna Pena Vows To Make Kayla Harrison “Take Accountability” For Everything Leading To UFC 316 Title Fight

Julianna Pena reveals her side of the beef with Kayla Harrison, vows to make her pay for the things she has said about her!

The UFC women’s bantamweight division has been a hotbed of drama and unexpected moments since its inception. From Ronda Rousey’s dominant reign to Holly Holm’s shocking head kick knockout, this weight class consistently delivers surprises that leave fans stunned. And Julianna Pena knows this better than anyone, having pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when she submitted Amanda Nunes in 2021. Now she faces another test against Olympic champion Kayla Harrison, who many consider unbeatable.

The buildup to UFC 316 has been filled with heated exchanges between these two fighters. Harrison came to the UFC with an impressive resume that includes two Olympic gold medals in judo. Meanwhile, Pena has been the scrappy underdog who refuses to back down from anyone. Their war of words has escalated over the past few months, with both women throwing verbal shots at each other during interviews and press conferences.

Julinna Pena Vows To Make Kayla Harrison Accountable

Julianna Pena wants everyone to know that she didn’t start this fight with words. She insisted that Kayla Harrison began targeting her long before they were even scheduled to face each other. According to the ‘Venezuelan Vixen,’ the problems started right after she defeated Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight championship. She noticed a blonde woman sitting ringside who was visibly upset about her victory over Nunes. That woman turned out to be Harrison, who apparently had her own plans involving the former champion.

Pena believes Harrison saw her upset victory as a major disruption to whatever plans were in motion. This early animosity set the tone for everything that would follow between them. In the recent UFC 316 media day, this is what she said:

“These are the things that me talking back is my way of defending myself. I believe that it’s trash talk, but I’m just responding to the things and the allegations and the horrendous comments that she’s made about me. She needs to take accountability for the things that she said and it’s my job to do that on Saturday night.”

"Me talking back is my way of defending myself. She can say it's trash talk."

Julianna Peña vows to make Kayla Harrison "take accountability for the things she's said" at #UFC316. 😳 pic.twitter.com/TD1WraQTHH
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 4, 2025

Peña further mentioned that Harrison’s agent made some extremely aggressive comments about the potential fight. The agent said Harrison would “win by murder” and might “catch murder charges” because of how badly she would beat Pena. These types of comments clearly crossed a line for the defending champion. She felt like the threats went beyond normal fight promotion and became genuinely concerning.

Julianna Pena wants to prove that same point against Harrison that she did against Nunes, while also settling their personal score. Saturday night at UFC 316 will determine whether experience trumps pedigree in this heated bantamweight title fight!

(Image Credit: Kyle Terada – Imagn Images)

Julianna Pena

Kayla Harrison

UFC 316

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!