Julianna Pena Says She’s Ready to Take Over Ronda Rousey’s Spot

Julianna Pena spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of her fight with Valentina Shevchenko at UFC on FOX 23. Some highlights are below:

On the media’s focus on Ronda Rousey: “There’s more than one girl MMA fighter out there…It’s a new era now, and I’m ready to take over that spot – the new era of girls who are tough as (expletive) and ready to put it on the line and fight whoever and wherever at any time.”

On why she turned down a fight with Shevchenko for UFC 205: “Why was I going to take another fight with somebody else who was calling me out, who needed me, as opposed to just fighting for the title right away, since I’ve been beating everybody? Once Ronda came back, then I agreed that I wanted the fight, and that it makes sense for me.”

On Shevchenko being ranked above her in the official UFC rankings: “All I know is that in wrestling rankings, when you win, you go up in the rankings, and somehow I manage to go down.”

On Rousey’s loss to Amanda Nunes: “When you’re doing good, it’s always a check for yourself to be a good person and do right by people and not screw people over and to think that you’re holier than thou. At one point, Ronda claimed I didn’t deserve to breath the same air as Shayna Baszler, and I’ve just always made a point never to think I’m better than any other person.”