Kayla Harrison Opens As Betting Favorite Over UFC Champ Julianna Pena
by Trent Reinsmith · ForbesUFC 307 was an audition of sorts for Kayla Harrison. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and PFL tournament winner passed her test on Saturday night, beating the No. 2 ranked Ketlen Vieira by unanimous decision. After her win, the biggest question facing Harrison and the UFC matchmakers was if she would be matched against the winner of the night’s co-main event, a UFC women’s bantamweight title fight between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena.
Pena won that fight by split decision. The victory earned Pena lost to Amanda Nunes over two years ago.
After her win (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), Harrison, who moved to 2-0 in the UFC and 18-1 in her MMA career, told UFC commentator Joe Rogan why she moved from PFL to the UFC in 2024, “I came to the UFC because I wanted to challenge myself. I didn’t come here for money. I didn’t come here for fame. I came here because I want to be the best in the world, and this is where the best girls in the world are.”
After that, Harrison addressed Pennington and Pena, who had yet to compete at UFC 307, “Ladies, enjoy it while you can. Because the queen is home and she’s coming for that (expletive) gold.”
Pena, who had not fought since she ceded the title to Nunes in July 2022, spoke about Harrison’s performance following her win over Pennington (48-47, 47-48, 48-47).
“We’re not impressed,” Pena said at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “She said she was going to put an elbow through her skull and do all this damage. [Vieira] didn’t have a scratch on her, it was boring, and she didn’t do anything that jumped off the page like, ‘Oooh, The Boogeyman.’ You know what I mean? So I was definitely, especially with hearing from my team, not impressed.”
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Instead of focusing on a potential fight with Harrison, Pena seemed fixated on getting a third fight with Nunes, who retired from the sport following her June 2023 decision win over Irene Aldana.
However, if Pena’s callout of Nunes doesn’t get the former champ to end her retirement, Pena said Harrison was a likely title challenger.
“If Amanda cowers away again, and does not come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right, Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention to the sport, and I actually love that,” Pena said.
BetOnline seems to be anticipating that Pena and Harrison will be the next UFC women’s bantamweight title fight. The opening odds for that potential matchup have Harrison listed as the -700 betting favorite. Meanwhile, Pena is listed as the +500 betting underdog.