Julianna Pena Slams Ronda Rousey’s Attitude – ‘Blaming Everybody, Take Accountability’
Julianna Pena has hit out at Ronda Rousey following her comments about the UFC in her departure.
Rousey has been very vocal about her UFC exit in her book ‘Our Fight.’ In it, she detailed her history of concussions. Her last two UFC fights were losses to Holly Holm (UFC 193 in 2015) and Amanda Nunes (UFC 207 in 2016), which Rousey felt were influenced by the concussions. Rousey also criticized the media, calming that they turned on her when she lost.
Her impact could not be denied. Rousey set the record for the most title defenses at six when she was the UFC Bantamweight Champion. Valentina Shevchenko broke this record. But Rousey still had other accomplishments. She has the quickest championship win when she stopped Cat Zingano. Dana White credited Rousey with the reason he pumped in more money for women’s MMA. When the dust had settled, Rousey was unhappy with parts of her time in the UFC.
Rousey On The UFC
“Ask the MMA media (why what I gave wasn’t enough) – they’re the ones saying it … that I was a fraud and I was hype and I was exposed and I was never anything and just lucky and all of these things, that I was ungracious or I was a loser, or every other thing that I just assume at this point because I don’t take the time to read it.
“Everything that could be said that was negative was said, and I feel really vilified by MMA media at this point and not really welcome back, which is why I haven’t gone to a UFC fight since (I left). I’m pretty sure if I walked into the arena, I’d be booed. That’s how it feels,” Rousey said
Pena did not take Rousey’s comments too well. Pena has been tipped to make a return to the UFC to face Raquel Pennington this year. Juliana beat Nunez at UFC 269 in 2022 for the bantamweight title. She was dropped twice in the first round, only to turn things around in the second. Pena exchanged in the centre and sent Nunez to the canvas. Pena then secured a rear naked choke to win. While she lost the rematch, she has set her sights on fighting Nunez again if the latter returns. Pena also said she is open to fighting Rousey again, as she pointed out Ronda’s reasons for her losses.
Pena Reacts
“I will say, definitely, weight of the world on her shoulders, I’m sure, but it comes with the territory. I do have this saying that I always say to everybody, ‘It sounds like an excuse, it sounds like an excuse. That’s what we call an…’ and then they’ll finish the sentence for me and they’ll say, ‘an excuse.’ I’ll tell you straight-up, ‘That’s an excuse, but…’ It’s never for her to say, taking accountability, ‘It’s an excuse, but I didn’t get to evolve.’ It’s just more of like blaming everybody else without taking any accountability.
“Especially if you lose, everybody loses. You get back up on the horse, you ride again, you fight another day. You’re not going to win every single fight. I think it was very poor taste for her to lose like that and then just be gone from the sport and never return. It just kind of shows her mentality,” Pena revealed
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