UFC commentator Jon Anik has given his thoughts on what Julianna Pena‘s best route to victory is as she prepares to defend her belt against Kayla Harrison tomorrow night.
In the co-main event of UFC 316, Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison will collide with the UFC women’s bantamweight championship on the line. The popular opinion is that Harrison will finally rise to the top of the mountain and claim the gold, but as we know, Pena is the kind of fighter who is more than capable of pulling off a big upset.
With that being said, Julianna Pena still needs to put forward one of the best performances of her life if she’s going to cause Kayla Harrison enough problems to win. We know she’s been trying to get in her head through a whole lot of trash talk, but nobody really knows whether or not that’s going to play any kind of role in the fight itself.
Regardless of how you look at it, this is an absolutely fascinating matchup and we truly believe it could go either way. In the eyes of Jon Anik, the voice of the UFC, Julianna Pena has a chance to win – it just depends on whether or not she is able to execute.
Jon Anik on Julianna Pena’s chances
“Julianna Peña is that refuse-to-be-denied type of athlete. Whether it’s off her back, trying to cut up Kayla early if she gets taken down, or forcing a crazy striking exchange… there are ways for Peña to realize success and make this an interesting fight. I don’t think you can bank on being the fresher fighter in rounds four and five. You need to create moments early and focus on the finish.”
Buckle up, fight fans, because this promises to be a really fun one on Saturday night.
