Julianna Peña says she's defending herself, not trash talking in UFC 316 buildup

USA Today

2 days ago

Julianna Peña says she's defending herself, not trash talking in UFC 316 buildup
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UFC 316: Julianna Peña media day interview
UFC 316 co-headliner Julianna Peña spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at media day for her women's bantamweight title fight vs. Kayla Harrison.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Julianna Peña says the shots she's fired at Kayla Harrison were done defensively – not offensively.
Ahead of their UFC 316 clash Saturday, both Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had their time to speak Wednesday with reporters including MMA Junkie. While Harrison said she is unbothered by the trash talk, Peña said the label misrepresents what's happened in actuality. The bout is the co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J..
"I am not trash talking, I'm simply defending myself," Peña said. "This all started before I even knew who Kayla Harrison was. When I beat Amanda Nunes, I saw this blond girl sitting cageside, freaking out, cussing and having all sorts of obscenities to say about me for beating Amanda Nunes and throwing a gigantic wrench in her plans. She's been trash talking me for a long time, long before I even knew who she was. It created more of a problem for me when I said it was going to be the media's fault. It was going to be the media's fault. They were going to have blood on their hands for you guys giving me the delusion to think that I could hang with her and stand across the octagon from her.
"Then her agent had made a comment that she was going to win by murder and that she was going to catch some murder charges because she was going to murder me. 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."
Should Peña dish out that accountability, it'll be her first successful title defense and a huge betting upset. Though it was quick, her first title reign began with an all-time upset against Amanda Nunes in 2022, who she could face again should she win Saturday.
So how does the underdog win?
"The last time you guys counted me out, you had to take it up the you-know-what," Peña said, when asked where her confidence comes from. "I think that's one of the things. I think the preparation and that I've been doing this for a long time. I've been fighting since 2008. When you put so much blood, sweat, and tears into everything and you're that dedicated and that passionate, there's only good things that can happen. I think that's what gives me the confidence."