Former UFC Bantamweight champion Julianna Peña says that her UFC 316 loss was preceded by weeks of considerable health problems.
Julianna Peña's second UFC Bantamweight Title Reign came to an abrupt end of Kayla Harrison earlier this month on UFC 316. In the last seconds of round 2 of their long-awaited resorts, Harrison Peña had to add a Kimura to her great MMA care.
It was a disappointing loss for Peña after beating Raquel Pennington for the belt on UFC 307 in October. She was supposed to face Amanda Nunes in a trilogy fight on UFC 289 before she withdrew because of injury.
Peña entered UFC 316 as an important underdog, despite being the defending champion in the matchup, against the global superstar Harrison. But it appears that Peña was against a higher expectation than most of them realized.
Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC
Julianna Peña's 'Dibs' on Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes winner is logical after revealed injuries
In a recent performance at the show of Ariel Helwani, Peña revealed that her body was seriously endangered in UFC 316 against Harrison.
“I was plagued with various injuries that were on the road in that fight. In that sense it wasn't a good camp for me, because I knew that I was going to fight with a pretty serious disability,” said Peña.
'It came up with me [to withdraw] But it wasn't bad enough to the point where I shouldn't fight because I knew I could push on. But it is a funny thing that my coaches did not explain the seriousness of the situation to me, otherwise I would have thought heavier to do not compete. I don't regret competing, I spent too much time and I took too much time from other people, my daughter, my coaches and their families. So I don't regret competing, I wish I could have compete under better conditions.
Peña was then forced to explain the injuries she sustained during her training camp.
“Second week of May I broke my thumb on my training partner, and it was swollen, looked like someone hit me in my hand with a hammer. It was really hard to grab, and it is still really difficult,” said Peña. “Then I took a really bad fall in the octagon and I tore my elbow, broke a lot of bone chips, so I was unable to straighten my arm or completely bend my arm … It was so swollen and showed the MRI and X -rays a tear and many bone chips in the back of that.”
Peña could possibly return to the Octagon towards the end of the year if everything goes well with its upcoming operations. She also admitted that the arm that Harrison was on UFC 316 was the same arm that was in danger during her camp.
Julianna Peña shared her prediction for Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes
With Peña on the sidelines, the Bantam weight division for women will prepare for a long -awaited superfight between Harrison and Nunes, possibly for later this year. Nunes confirmed her return to the Octagon when she finished with Harrison in the cage on UFC 316.
Peña has a lot of history with both Harrison and Nunes, and says she will be Cagde to see the fight playing when it comes to bloom. In the interview mentioned above, Peña said that Nunes would probably 'beat Harrison and that it is the outcome she rooted for.
Peña mentioned 'Dibs' on the winner of Harrison vs. Nunes after the fight has taken place. It is uncertain whether she will have a fight in the meantime, but in both cases Peña is aimed at restoring her different ailments.