Latest news with #JuliannaPena
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former UFC champion officially back in anti-doping program
Former UFC women's two-division champion Amanda Nunes appears set on fighting once again. Nunes, who announced her retirement in 2023, has officially entered back into the UFC's anti-doping program. Nunes was drug tested over the last seven days, as numbers are updated weekly on the UFC's anti-doping website. The results come from random tests, so the exact time of her return to the anti-doping program is unknown. MORE: UFC 318 results featuring Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 3 Following a title-winning performance from Kayla Harrison earlier this year over Julianna Pena, Nunes made it known that she was planning to return and look to claim back the bantamweight title. The 37-year-old is the only female fighter to win UFC championships in multiple weight classes. She is also the only UFC fighter to defend two titles in two different weight classes while actively holding them at the same time. Her last fight came in June 2023 at UFC 289 when she defending the bantamweight belt with a decision over Irene Aldana. Nunes lost to Pena in 2021 but earned a victory in the rematch in July 2022. MORE COMBAT SPORTS NEWS: PFL Results: Costello Van Steenis claims title Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva set stage for September bout PFL Hollywood to host pair of tournament finales Special guest to walk Dustin Poirier to UFC 318 Octagon UFC heavyweight scores convincing win, puts on a show PFL Charlotte to feature three title fights
Forbes
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC: Kayla Harrison Vs. Amanda Nunes Opening Odds
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 07: Kayla Harrison faces off with former champion Amanda Nunes after her ... More victory over Julianna Pena in the UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 316 event at Prudential Center on June 07, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Kayla Harrison won the UFC women's bantamweight championship on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 316. Not long after UFC CEO Dana White wrapped that belt around her waist, Harrison faced off with her likely potential opponent for her first title defense, former and no longer retired two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes. The opening betting odds for that potential fight have been released. When BetOnline first published the opening odds for a Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes matchup, the opening line had Harrison as a -150 betting favorite over the +130 Nunes. Today, Harrison is listed at -162, while Nunes is the +142 betting underdog. Harrison captured the UFC women's bantamweight title on Saturday night of the co-main event of UFC 316, dominating Julianna Pena on her way to a late third-round submission win to claim that title. After the win, Harrison invited Nunes, who was on hand at the Prudential Center in New Jersey for UFC 316, to step into the Octagon, where Harrison said, "I feel like we knew this was going to happen. I have the belt, she has the legacy. Let's put it on the table." NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 07: Kayla Harrison of the United States celebrates after defeating ... More Julianna Pena of the United States in the bantamweight title bout during UFC 316 at the Prudential Center on June 07, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo) A two-time Olympic gold medal winner in judo (2012 and 2016), Kayla Harrison made her MMA debut in the 155-pound division with PFL in 2018. Harrison ran over her first six opponents, picking up three submissions, two knockouts, and a decision before winning the women's lightweight title by defeating Larissa Pacheco by decision. In November 2020, Harrison defeated Courtney King by TKO in a 145-pound scrap. Shen then moved back to 155 pounds. In 2021, Harrison won the PFL 155-pound tournament with a submission win over Taylor Guardado. By 2022, Harrison had amassed a 15-0 record. However, her unbeaten ended in the finals of the 2022 PFL lightweight tourney when Pacheco scored a unanimous decision win over Harrison. The ex-champ fought once more for the PFL, beating former UFC fighter Aspen Ladd via decision in November 2023 in a 150-pound catchweight fight. In January 2024, the UFC announced it had signed Harrison and that her promotional debut would take place in the 135-pound weight class. Harrison impressed in that performance, submitting former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm by submission in the second round at UFC 400. In her next outing, Harrison defeated Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision. Harrison rolled over Pena at UFC 316, picking up a fairly easy submission win over the overmatched Pena to capture the UFC women's bantamweight title. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: Amanda Nunes is seen on stage during a Q&A session prior to the UFC ... More 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) If Amanda Nunes is not the best woman to compete in MMA, she is at least in the conversation. Nunes debuted with the UFC in 2013 with a 7-3 record. She opened her career with the promotion with two first-round knockout wins. However, in her third outing under the UFC banner, Nunes fell to Cat Zingano, losing that fight by TKO in the third round. Nunes would not lose again until December 2021. During her 12-fight winning streak, Nunes won the bantamweight title and defended it five times, beating notable names Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and Holly Holm by first-round stoppage. Nunes also captured the featherweight belt during that title run, defending it twice. Nunes took ownership of the 145-pound crown with a first-round knockout of Cris Cyborg, who had not tasted defeat in over 13 years. In a flat and somewhat confusing performance, Nunes lost her 135-pound crown in December 2021, falling to Julianna Pena by second-round submission. In July 2022, Nunes regained the bantamweight belt with a decision win over Pena. She defended the crown against Aldana, who replaced the injured Pena in what was to be a trilogy bout. Nunes then retired from active competition as the bantamweight and featherweight champ. "Double champion forever," Nunes said after the win. "This is the perfect night to retire." The former two-division champ expressed her desire to come out of retirement in April. Nunes, who is not in the UFC drug testing pool and has not been tested since 2023, said she would like to face Harrison before the end of the year. UFC CEO Dana White said during the UFC 316 post-fight press conference that the promotion would discuss the matchup and the weight class for the Harrison vs. Pena fight during Tuesday's matchmaking meeting. We will have more on the potential Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes matchup as news becomes available.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Middletown native Kayla Harrison wins UFC title
Kayla Harrison continues to win more gold. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Middletown native won the women's bantamweight championship Saturday in the UFC 316 co-main event in Newark, NJ, according to the Associated Press. Advertisement She beat Julianna Pena in the final seconds of Round 2. Harrison improved to 19-1 in MMA overall and 3-0 in the UFC. She dominated every second of Saturday's fight. TRENDING STORIES: She dropped to her knees in celebration. 'I prayed in the dark. I fought in the light. And God never left my side,' she wrote on her Facebook page. 'Thank you to my team, my family, and everyone who believed. This life is wild—and I'm so damn blessed to live it." President Trump attended the fight on Saturday. As previously reported by News Center 7, Harrison graduated from Middletown High School, where she took up judo. Advertisement Harrison won two gold medals at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016. The Associated Press contributed to this story Photo from Kayla Harrison's Facebook page [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Forbes
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Amanda Nunes Says Kayla Harrison Was The Reason She Left Gym
While newly crowned UFC women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes say there is no animosity between them, Nunes says Harrison was behind her decision to part ways with her former gym, American Top Team. "Yes, I did [leave because of Kayla Harrison]," Nunes told ESPN after UFC 316. "Because when she got there, she started training with my coach, Mike Brown, Anderson [Franca], everybody, and I knew this fight would happen one day. "If I was there now, that would be a problem. A huge problem for [American Top Team owner] Nunes said the feeling at ATT was that a fight between herself and Harrison was inevitable. "As soon as she got a microphone, she used to talk about me," said Nunes. "From that moment, we already started getting like, not different, but like we always respect each other in the gym – but we knew the energy. We never would be able to connect. "Here and there we were training, also I was completely out of shape. Every time I'd come back to the gym, somehow we're training and I'm like damn, I'm going to train with Kayla when I'm completely out of shape? That's not fair. Now we're going to see each other when I'm at full-time in camp, 100 percent strong 'The Lioness' and she's going to know exactly who I am inside the cage." Harrison captured the UFC women's bantamweight title on Saturday night of the co-main event of UFC 316, dominating Julianna Pena on her way to a late third-round submission win to claim that title. After the win, Harrison invited Nunes, who was on hand at the Prudential Center in New Jersey for UFC 316, to step into the Octagon, where Harrison said, "I feel like we knew this was going to happen. I have the belt, she has the legacy. Let's put it on the table." If Nunes is not the best woman to compete in MMA, she is at least in the conversation. Nunes debuted with the UFC in 2013 with a 7-3 record. She opened her career with the promotion with two first-round knockout wins. However, in her third outing under the UFC banner, Nunes fell to Cat Zingano, losing that fight by TKO in the third round. Nunes would not lose again until December 2021. During her 12-fight winning streak, Nunes won the bantamweight title and defended it five times, beating notable names Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and Holly Holm by first-round stoppage. Nunes also captured the featherweight belt during that title run, defending it twice. Nunes took ownership of the 145-pound crown with a first-round knockout of Cris Cyborg, who had not tasted defeat in over 13 years. In a flat and somewhat confusing performance, Nunes lost her 135-pound crown in December 2021, falling to Julianna Pena by second-round submission. In July 2022, Nunes regained the bantamweight belt with a decision win over Pena. She defended the crown against Aldana, who replaced the injured Pena in what was to be a trilogy bout. Nunes then retired from active competition as the bantamweight and featherweight champ. "Double champion forever," Nunes said after the win. "This is the perfect night to retire." Nunes' split with ATT came after her loss to Pena. Nunes, who is not in the UFC drug testing pool and has not been tested since 2023, said she would like to face Harrison before the end of the year. UFC CEO Dana White said during the UFC 316 post-fight press conference that the promotion would discuss the matchup and the weight class for the Harrison vs. Pena fight during Tuesday's matchmaking meeting.
Forbes
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Kayla Harrison On UFC 316 Weight Cut: ‘I Wanted To Quit'
The way Kayla Harrison told it, there almost wasn't a women's bantamweight title fight between herself and Julianna Pena last night at UFC 316. 'I'll tell you what, on Thursday night, I wanted to quit,' Harrison told UFC commentator Joe Rogan during her in-cage post-fight interview. 'I wanted to give up, but there's a small voice inside of you that will tell you 'don't give up.' So, don't give up.' Rogan later asked Harrison if she was referring to her weight cut to make 135 pounds for the first time in her professional career. 'Only God can get that last pound off me,' said Harrison. 'I can't do it. I'm not strong enough. It's too hard. You gotta go to a bad place, and the only way through is to surrender and have faith.' Harrison looked rough when she hit the 135-pound limit on Friday morning at the Regency Hotel in Newark. Her cheeks were sunken, her eyes hollow, and her body looked stripped of every ounce of fat and excess water. By the time the ceremonial weigh-ins took place later that night at the Prudential Center, Harrison looked much better, having had a few hours to rehydrate. By the time fight night rolled around, Harrison had filled out and appeared to have rehydrated to a weight that would allow her to perform close to the best of her abilities. Harrison has been a high-level athlete for a long while. A gold-medal winner in judo at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games at -78 kg (172 pounds), Harrison spent the first four years of her MMA career competing at 155 pounds, with one fight at 145 and one bout at 150. When the former PFL lightweight champ signed with the UFC, there were some concerns about how she would deal with the bantamweight limit. In her first two UFC bouts, Harrison checked in at 136. As those fights were not for UFC gold, Harrison and her opponents in those contests, where Harrison picked up wins over Holly Holm (UFC 300) and Ketlen Vieira (UFC 307), were given the luxury of a one-pound allowance. Harrison earned a relatively easy submission win over the overmatched Pena to capture the UFC women's bantamweight title. She limited Pena to nine landed significant strikes on 37 attempts while forcing Pena to fight from her back foot for nearly the entire fight. Pena's fear of the grappling game of her opponent left her on defense. Those fears were warranted because Harrison, who went two-for-three on takedowns, had no trouble controlling Pena on the mat, eventually forcing her to submit with five seconds left in the third round after she applied a kimura that looked like it would surely break Pena's arm if she had not tapped. The big news came in the aftermath of the win when former two-division UFC champ (bantamweight and featherweight) Amanda Nunes announced she was coming out of retirement to face Harrison for the title. Nunes retired in June 2023 after defending the 135-pound title with a win over Irene Aldana to care for her growing family. With her children being a little older and things around the household more calm, the 37-year-old entered the Octagon on Saturday night to let everyone know that she would face Harrison in the future. The main card for UFC 316 streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass. With her win over Julianna Pena at UFC 316, Harrison moved to 19-1 overall and 3-0 in the UFC.
