Julianna Peña͏ looked like a woman on a mission when she took on Raquel ͏Pennin͏gton at UFC 307. “The ͏Venezu͏ela͏n Vixen” took the fight with the former champion the whole length and won the contest via split decision after the judges scored the card  48-47, ͏47-48͏, and 48-͏4͏7͏. While there was a lot of controversy surrounding the results, Peña͏ is now the new and two-time bantamweight queen.

The next big question is who will she defend the title against next in the division. It seems she is focused on taking on Amanda Nunes next and feels their rivalry is far from over. Let us take a look at what she had to say about the former champion.

Julianna Peña͏ itching to end her rivalry with Amanda Nunes after her UFC 307 victory

The pair has had a bit of history between them and are currently sitting at 1-1 in their feud. ‘The Lioness’ announced her retirement from the sport after her UFC 289 victory. At that moment, she was holding both the undisputed women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles.  After the event, UFC CEO Dana White, during the post-fight scrum, said, “Would I like to see her stick around and do some more? Absolutely, I love the kid. The new bantamweight champion also feels she retired a bit early and still has a lot to offer to the sport.

MMA Fighting shared a clip on their X account where she said, “And I still am, and I truly do not believe that she is done. She retired too early. I think she is looking for something to do and you know that to be is the biggest fight in the women’s mixed martial arts history. Because we are 1 and 1, I fought against her the first time so dominant and I made her tap. Our second time I ran at a time I lost the decision fine no problem but it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all for the trilogy fight that she walked away from.”

While fans would love to see a trilogy fight between the two, it seems a far-fetched dream at the moment. Another fighter who is eyeing the bantamweight title is Kayla Harrison. Harrison took on the #2 ranked fighter in the division, Ketlen Vieira, in the recently concluded UFC 307 event. ‘Doug’ dominated the fight and used her world-class grappling skills to get her second victory in the UFC. At the pre-fight press conference, Harrison seemed confident about getting a title shot in her next fight.

She said, “Fill in the blank. It doesn’t matter. It’s only a matter of time. I’m the uncrowned queen. First Saturday night, I smash Ketlen and then I come for my title. Enjoy it while you can, ladies.” It now seems she might just have to wait a bit longer after the newly crowned bantamweight queen has different plans.

Kayla Harrison is not on the list next for Julianna Peña͏ after her UFC 307 victory

After losing her bantamwe͏ight belt ͏to Amanda Nunes in 2͏021, Julianna Pe͏ña reclaimed her title against Raquel ͏Pennin͏gton, in the recently concluded UFC 307 event. Both fighters have been waiting for a long time to face each other and settle their differences once and for all. During the post-fight interview, the former champion seemed a bit dejected and felt she had done more to retain the title. But it looked like the judges weren’t having any of what ‘Rocky’ had in mind.

Pe͏ña, on the other hand, seemed extremely proud of her performance and is now focusing on her first title defense. The immediate opponent next in line for her has to be Kayla Harrison. But it seems the new champion has different plans and doesn’t want to face her next. On being asked about her first title defense, she said, “What I really like is for Amanda Nunes to come back inside the Octagon, let us settle this. We are one in one. It would be the greatest fight in the mixed martial arts history in the bantamweight division.” Nunes seems to be comfortably enjoying her retired life after accomplishing everything in the sport. While there is no announcement of her return, it will be interesting to see if the fight ever happens.

Do you think she will be defending her title against Amanda Nunes next? Or will Kayla Harrison get the opportunity she deserves? Let us know in the comments below.