Midnight Mania! Julianna Pena reacts to Khabib snub, ‘Dude, you’re breaking my heart’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Julianna Pena scored one of the biggest upsets of all time — let alone in a title fight — when she toppled two-division champ Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 in December 2021. However, not everyone is fully impressed.

At a recent Eagle FC press conference, Khabib Nurmagomedov was asked about the fight and women’s MMA ... and he hasn’t changed his tune.

“I am like, we can watch what Julianna Peña did with Amanda Nunes [at UFC 269]. But Julianna Peña, she is not like the greatest or something like that,” Nurmagomedov said (via MMAnews). “She just beat Amanda Nunes like [on the day]. We can watch not many good [female] fighters all around the world. There are only like five or six of them.”

Understandably, Pena herself wasn’t exactly pleased with his analysis. A big fan of “The Eagle,” Pena explained on The Joe Rogan Experience how much the comment hurt her feelings.

“I saw in a presser that they asked [Khabib] a question and he was just completely downgrading the whole win and everything like that….it totally broke my heart…” Pena said. “I was like, ‘Dude, you’re breaking my heart, man. Like, I freaking love you. Like, seriously.

“He must be friends with Kayla Harrison or something. I don’t know. Because he was like, [MOCK KHABIB ACCENT] ‘If this is the top of women’s division, it’s a joke,” Peña said. “I mean, it wasn’t very nice. I didn’t appreciate it, Khabib.”

Ultimately, fighters can never impress everyone, though it’s extra painful when criticism comes from a highly respected peer. Still, Pena has a chance to impress once more in the eventual rematch, which may occur after a season of The Ultimate Fighter.

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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.