Julianna Peña is set to return at UFC 307 after being away from competition for nearly two years.
The last time that she stepped inside the Octagon, it was as the women’s bantamweight champion.
Though she came up short on that night in a rematch with Amanda Nunes at UFC 277, her comeback will see her look to reclaim the gold on October 5.
To do so, Peña will need to answer some questions about whether her time away and injuries will play a factor in her attempt to dethrone Raquel Pennington in Salt Lake City.
Jon Anik Says That Juliana Peña’s Meanness Will Help Her Overcome Ring Rust At UFC 307
UFC commentator Jon Anik expressed in a recent interview with Middle Easy that he isn’t concerned about Peña’s time away from the Octagon heading into this fight.
Though he did say that ring rust can be a factor depending on the fighter in question, he believes that the challenger is not someone that it will phase.
Anik referenced how if you listen to how the former champion’s coaches and teammates speak about her, they will immediately make reference to her aggressive mindset when she’s in the cage.
With this in mind, he doesn’t think that we will see anything less than the very best that Peña has to offer, come October 5.
“It’s amazing to listen to Juliana Peña’s coaches, to a man, talk about her relative meanness and nastiness. They can’t even get to the skills because Rick Little and Mike Valley both are just like dude, meanest man or woman in the gym, you know what I mean? So I don’t worry about her, I just think she’s sort of one of these ultimate competitors. The layoffs not ideal, the injury history is not ideal and Raquel Pennington just knows how to win fights.”
