Kayla Harrison dominates Peña; to defend title vs. Nunes

Kayla Harrison dominated and submitted Julianna Peña in the final seconds of round two to claim the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in the UFC 316 co-main event in Newark, New Jersey.

Harrison’s first defense is already lined up against former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who announced she would be coming out of retirement before UFC 316. The new champion welcomed the former champion into the Octagon and the two exchanged pleasantries before staring each other down.

“I feel like we knew this was going to happen,” said Harrison. “I have the belt, she has the legacy, let’s put it on the table.”

Harrison (19-1) owned every second of Saturday night’s fight with relentless pressure and takedowns. After a first round where she immediately secured a takedown and saw Pena docked a point for illegal upkicks, Harrison went right back to work in the second round.

Pena (12-6) never took a step forward and was constantly being pursued by Harrison. Eventually, Harrison wrapped her hands around Pena again and brought the fight to the mat. Harrison unleashed some ground and pound from half guard and maneuvered into an arm triangle attempt. It looked as if Pena would make it out of the second round after surviving but Harrison swiftly transitioned to a kimura and elicited the tap with five seconds left in the round.

“This is for anyone who has ever felt hopeless and wanted to quit,” Harrison said. “On Thursday, I wanted to quit, but there’s a small voice that will tell you not to quit.”

What Harrison was referring to was the brutal weight cut that had her looking emaciated on the scale Friday morning. But she made the weight, and that may have been the most difficult fight she had this week.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, Harrison made her MMA debut in 2018 and won the PFL lightweight tournament in 2019 and 2021 before signing with the UFC in January 2024. Harrison made her UFC debut at UFC 300 last April, making 135 pounds and submitting former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the second round. She followed that performance with a decision win over Ketlen Vieira to secure her spot for a title opportunity.

Although she was responsible for pulling off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when she submitted Amanda Nunes in December 2021, Julianna Pena wasn’t be able to muster up a similar performance as a significant underdog to Harrison.

There was significant bad blood between Harrison and Pena heading into the fight but the two embraced afterward.

“We prayed for each other,” Harrison said. “It’s not personal. We’re here to fight. This is a business and I’m grateful to Pena for bringing out a better version of me.”