Julianna Pena is hoping to return to the Octagon next year.
Pena was last seen in action back in Jan. 2017. She lost to Valentina Shevchenko via submission. “Bullet” ended up challenging Amanda Nunes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight gold. Pena has been out of action since the bout as she gave birth to a baby girl earlier this year.
Julianna Pena Eyes A 2019 Return
Pena recently appeared on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour.” “The Venezuelan Vixen” said that while she doesn’t know when her body will be ready for competition again, she plans to be back sometime next year:
“I’m in the midst of figuring that out. I’m in my hometown getting evaluated and I’ll be leaving here on Wednesday and hopefully by the end of that time my coach will have an answer for me as to when I can take a fight again and get back in fight camp. But 2019 for sure. … The bantamweight women are killing it. It’s always refreshing to see a 135er on the card because you don’t see enough of them. So, I’m always really excited to see a bantamweight women’s fight. I’m happy for them and I can’t wait to get back in the division and join them.”
With wins over Cat Zingano and Jessica Eye, Pena proved to be a worthy 135-pounder, but many wonder if she can get back in the swing of things since it will have been over two years since her last outing.
Do you think Julianna Pena can find success upon her return?
