Juliana Peña is the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and she sure knows how to act accordingly. On June 7, in the co-main event of UFC 316, Peña is set to defend her title against a two-time Olympic champion and the current No. 2 bantamweight contender in the world, Kayla Harrison.

The Venezuelan knows she is a heavy underdog, yet is confident enough to loudly predict the upset. While Harrison might call Peña “delusional,” the champion has produced one of the greatest upsets in the sport’s history when she defeated the GOAT of women’s MMA, Amanda Nuñes.

Beef Between Juliana Peña, Kayla Harrison Is Fascinating

This conflict began even before Peña claimed the belt for the second time, when both she and Harrison were set to fight at UFC 307 against different opponents. In the lead-up to the fight night, though, it seemed as if the ladies were set to face each other with how much trash talk they produced towards each other.

Sitting at the same table during their October press conference, Peña and Harrison gladly attacked each other. Each was questioning the other’s résumé, with Peña discrediting Harrison’s PFL experience, saying that the American “just got here.” Steroid accusations — a hot topic during Harrison’s whole career — were also brought up by “The Venezuelan Vixen.”

After the event, where both got decision victories, it only seemed right to immediately book what seemed to be the biggest fight in women’s MMA. Peña used her mic time after winning the title to call out the retired Nuñes for a trilogy bout. Harrison, whose face was on the big screen next to the champion, looked flabbergasted.

In response to all the criticism towards herself, Peña claimed that she “wasn’t impressed” by Harrison’s performance against Vieira. She also loves to remind everyone that the Olympian hasn’t made the championship weight of 135 pounds yet. The weight has been a big question throughout Harrison’s whole run in the UFC, as she had previously competed in the 155-pound division.

Now that the fighters are scheduled to fight at UFC 316 in a matter of days, they are unleashing a new wave of smack talk upon each other, and the fans are all for it. It feels real, feels as though they hate each other’s faces and want to take a swing whenever they see each other.

The Matchup

On paper, it looks like Harrison is a better all-around mixed martial artist. Her pure grappling is surely superior to that of Peña’s, and in the striking, the champion is known to swing wildly in hopes of a few Hail Mary shots getting through. Yet Peña finds a way to make it work, like she did against Nuñes, Raquel Pennington, Cat Zingano, and many others.

Harrison might just be the biggest threat in the Venezuelan’s career — quite literally. As mentioned prior, the American is a former 155-pounder in MMA and a 172-pounder in judo. Her physicality has been a huge factor against the smaller opposition. It is essential to also remember how skillful she is on the ground, with her striking also progressing from bout to bout.

If Harrison is able to dictate where the fight takes place with her grappling, she might make the champion look easy. On the other hand, if Peña is going to make the fight dirty and not give up a takedown, it is going to be a long night for the contender.

End Of My Peña Vs. Harrison Rant

In the anticipation of UFC 316, the co-main event bout of the night looks more and more attractive by the day. The rivalry is there, and there is no doubt that this one is for the title of the best women’s 135-pounder in the world, at least for now.

At the same UFC 307 press conference, where the beef between Peña and Harrison truly kicked off, Nuñes announced that she is ready to come back and fight the winner. The news was met with massive applause from the crowd and a smug look on Peña’s face.

There is yet another reason for you to watch closely when these two collide on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey, at Prudential Center.

Image credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC