UFC 277: Julianna Pena says she is 'so much more than an underdog'

Julianna Pena is set to defend her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship this Saturday night as part of UFC 277, but she enters the contest as the underdog once again.

Despite gaining an impressive victory over Women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes back in December 2021, the 135-pound Champion enters the octagon this weekend at +230 compared to Nunes’ -275.

This isn’t the first time that Pena has been classed as the underdog, but she is determined to not allow people to label her as purely that in her ever more impressive MMA career.

Here is what Julianna Pena had to say with regards to once again being labelled the underdog in her UFC 277 fight against Amanda Nunes.

Read More: UFC 277: Pena vs Nunes, Fight Card, Date, Tickets and More

Speaking on Barstool Chicago’s RebuildEd podcast(via MMANews), Pena outlined her frustration at being labelled the underdog again and again.

She said: “It’s happened to me time and time again. When I was on The Ultimate Fighter, Dana White allowed women into the UFC in 2013 and he allowed us to be on The Ultimate Fighter, I was a dark horse.

“Nobody gave me any respect, they all counted me out, and I ended up winning the whole show. It’s kind of been the trajectory of my career since I started in the UFC. I’m always the underdog.

“But when they get locked in the cage and they’re looking across from me, they’re not thinking, ‘I’m just gonna go cream this underdog real quick.’ Nah, they’re not thinking that they’re not thinking, ‘Julianna’s just an underdog and I’ll run through her in two seconds.’ It’s never happened.

“Even though people consider me an underdog, and even though I probably will when the odds come out, again, blinders, I don’t let that play into what I have to do, I don’t let that