It is so refreshing to have another women’s champion wearing their heart on their sleeves and voicing their frustrations during their journey. Peña has shown that every champion is best off expressing all of their feelings about their opponents. Juliana Peña has been calling out Amanda Nunes for four years. No one else would speak Nunes’ name. The most the audience got was girls sheepishly saying they are not afraid of Nunes, who was the champion from 2016 to 2021.
As the current 135lb champion, Juliana Peña not only called the champion out, she predicted how she would overwhelm Amanda Nunes and make her quit.
Juliana Pena Rips Amanda Nunes
9 months before winning the title, Peña quashed all of Ariel Helwani’s assertions that Nunes is a great fighter. “If you’re this GOAT that curled up in the fetal position and quit in your fight, if you’re a GOAT, then fight me and prove it,” Peña said. Also adding that Ariel “cannot compare Amanda Nunes and Khabib together”, saying that comparing the two is like “apples and garlic”.
Her interviews are so refreshing. Some of the biggest stars ripped their peers apart during their assent to the title. Khabib, Conor, Ronda, Adesanya, they all asserted themselves into the conversation of the best in the division.
When Amanda Nunes’ wife Nina suggested the former contender was undeserving of a title shot, she fired back telling Amanda to “put your girl on a leash… stay out of the big girl conversations Nina!”
Refreshing Marketability
Female fighters have been mostly positive and encouraging to each other even when Ronda Rousey was Champion. It’s boring. Assertive, prickly, mean emotions are compelling if the champions really feel them and express them. Champions like Robert Whittaker hurt their marketability when they bottle their emotions up so that they can play the nice guy. Even GSP let the audience in a bit when he fought BJ Penn and Nick Diaz. He showed he was a human being. Whittaker pretended to be dismissive of Adesanya when he clearly hates him. It would be more appealing to the audience if he let the fans in and showed how he really felt. Luckily Peña does not have that problem.
Juliana is a rare mix of respectful and brash at the same time. She is a powerful mother and is quick to say she is better than anyone. She is a breath of fresh air in this industry. Hopefully Peña really profits off of her championship run and people appreciate her as a champion while she is here. She can do Revlon, Cell Phones and Everlast ads. Hell, she beat Amanda Nunes handedly, give her the Modelo commercial. It’s time!
