Not quite a Ronda Rousey callout, but Julianna Pena says she'd be ready

Julianna Pena

FAIRFAX, Va. – After 16 months on the sideline, Julianna Pena wasn’t about to call for a title shot … sort of.

After Pena’s (6-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) demolition of Milana Dudieva (11-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 63 card in Fairfax, Va., she was more excited to be back from a lengthy rehab with a victory than anything else.

But that opened up some what-ifs for the “TUF 18? winner – especially after she said post-fight that had she not been out for so long, she believes she’d have bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey's belt around her waist, even if she didn’t mention Rousey by name.

So what if? What if Bethe Correia couldn’t challenge Rousey at UFC 190 in August in Rio de Janeiro? Would Pena step in on short notice, right after just getting back in the saddle after her knee injury and rehab?

Ronda Rousey

“I believe if someone knocked on my door and wanted to get in a fist fight tomorrow morning, either I know how to fight or I don’t,” Pena said. “I know how to fight. And yeah, I would, if that was the scenario.”

But Pena is a little more realistic about things than that. Presuming no crazy scenario, Pena believes she’ll have to work her way toward the top, just as she would’ve done a lot sooner had her knee injury not happened.

She has back-to-back stoppage wins in the first round to open her UFC career, and she has two other stoppage wins over top-tier bantamweights while in the “TUF” house.

“I’ve got to beat someone in the Top 5 to get to a title shot, so that’s my goal,” she said. “It depends on when my next fight is, and what happens there. I never look past any opponent. I’m just waiting to hear back when I’ll fight again. Then I’ll put the hard work back in again and get back on the road.”

The hard work from her rehab and win over Dudieva paid off with a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus win, which isn’t a bad start if working her way to a potential title shot down the road is her goal.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 63, check out the UFC Events section of the site.