Julianna Peña: “I don’t have to take my clothes off to get people invested in what I do”
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña will defend her title in a rematch against former champion Amanda Nunes.
The second meeting between “The Venezuelan Vixen” and “The Lioness” takes place at UFC 277 on July 30 in Dallas, Texas. The duo first met at UFC 269 in December 2021 with Peña submitted Nunes in the second round to claim the championship title. The two women have since gone on to coach opposite one another on the 30th season of the Ultimate Fighter.
Pena recently appeared on Barstool Chicago’s RebuildEd podcast, and she revealed that she has physical insecurities and didn’t necessarily agree with how some female fighters are using social media to promote their sexuality.
Interview with Julianna Peña below
“I think that it’s (physical insecurities) helped me in a way, because it’s easy to take your clothes off and sell something on Instagram and be this sexy model, but I’m trying to do it in a classy way where it’s like, I don’t have to take my clothes off to get people invested in what I do.
“So, it’s almost like, a thing that’s benefited me in another way as well, because I’ve got a daughter and I want to set a great example for her. I don’t want her to, years from now, be on Instagram and see her mom being half-naked.
“I’m not trying to knock anybody for doing that, you know, get your paper boo-boo, do what you gotta do.
“But for me, it’s put me in a situation where I have to market myself in a different way that’s not about taking my clothes off and trying to be a ‘sex sells’ kind of person.”
Order UFC 277 by clicking the image below
Julianna Peña (134.5) vs. Amanda Nunes (135)
Brandon Moreno (124.5) vs. Kai Kara-France (124.5)
Derrick Lewis (264.5) vs. Sergei Pavlovich (254.5)
Alexandre Pantoja (125.5) vs. Alex Perez (125.5)
Anthony Smith (206) vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Preliminary Card (ABC, ESPN at 8 p.m. ET)
Alex Morono vs. Matthew Semelsberger
Drew Dober vs. Rafael Alves
Don’Tale Mayes vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab
Drakkar Klose vs. Rafa Garcia
Early Prelims (ESPN, ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET)
Michael Morales vs. Adam Fugitt
Joselyne Edwards vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria
Orion Cosce vs. Blood Diamond
