Top-ranked women's Bantamweight contender Julianna Pena (No. 5) is backing off her recent "Fat Arms" Ronda Rousey comments, claiming in a recent conversation with MMAJunkie.com that she, "used the wrong choice of words." That's because Pena and Rousey have personal history that traces back to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18, which "Venezuelan Vixen" won as the top selection of "Rowdy" rival, Miesha Tate.
"I think a lot of people have forgotten how rude and how much of a bitch she was to me on the show and the way that she treated me personally," she said. "Those are things that I don't forget. She's disrespected me, and she's disrespected my coach on the show."
It was that experience, combined with the flood of speculation as to when and where Rousey will return to the Octagon that ultimately got Pena a bit bent.
"I think it was the wrong choice of words," she said. "What was in my head didn't come out exactly the way I wanted it to through the media. I'm not trying to call her a fat person -- I was basically commenting on how the media is always asking about her, whether she's training or not, whether she's coming back or not, whether she's having that giant's babies or not, and it's so annoying at this point that I'm just like, forget about it. The buzz has died."
Glad that we got that settled.
Pena is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Cat Zingano at UFC 200 last month. She called for a shot at the women's 135-pound title next, which is now in the grasp of Amanda Nunes following the Brazilian's first-round submission win over the aforementioned Tate on at the same pay-per-view (PPV) event.
Nunes, though, was not impressed with Pena's performance, preferring instead to welcome back Rousey to the Octagon, which probably sounded a lot like nails on a chalkboard to Pena.