Julianna Pena’s groundbreaking victory over Amanda Nunes has many in the MMA community wondering if she can truly hang with the sport’s elite. While a Kayla Harrison-Amanda Nunes superfight has long been on many fight fans’ wish list, some want to see Pena try her hand at fighting PFL’s biggest female star. Kayla Harrison herself told The Fighter vs The Writer that it’s not such a good idea.
“Listen, you and the media need to be careful. You’re going to get somebody hurt and it’s going to be on your hands, not mine. Because you’re going to get a girl hurt. You’re going to get her really, seriously hurt and it’s not going to be on my conscience because you guys did this.
Kayla Harrison Warns Media will get Julianna Pena “really, seriously hurt’
You guys gave her this platform and you allowed her to think that she could stand in a cage with me and beat me and you gave her this delusion. I mean it. You guys are to blame. If I ever get the pleasure of fighting her, whatever happens, I want all of you guys to go and look in the mirror and know that you did that. Cause you are stirring it and I am very frustrated that I can’t just beat her ass.”
Pena, regardless of whose fault it would be, is at the top of Harrison’s list. “I think that in my opinion, she doesn’t respect me and I think I need to go earn her respect and that’s by fighting her. I think that will do it.”
Harrison knows that, after her recent spell as a free agent, her return to the PFL will prevent her from taking on the elite competition in the UFC or Bellator. Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg won’t be facing Harrison until she competes in another promotion.
“I think because in the fan’s eyes and in a lot of people’s eyes, I’m still the newcomer, which is true, compared to an Amanda [Nunes], compared to a Cyborg.
I’m still the newcomer and I think in their eyes, Bellator’s been around for a lot longer. The UFC’s obviously the powerhouse of the MMA world right now. So I think in their eyes it’s like for it to be legitimate it has to be where we’re used to seeing it be legitimate.”
Kayla Harrison, for the time being, won’t be fighting Pena, Cyborg, or Nunes. If she does, how do you think the fight goes down? Is Julianna Pena the easy prey Harrison says she is? Let us know in the comments.
