Julianna Peña claims that Ronda Rousey ruined her legacy by leaving UFC for WWE: 'it became a joke'

R. Rousey is retired from MMA. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook RondaRousey

Member of the UFC Hall of Fame, Ronda Rousey was decisive in the consolidation of women's MMA within the organization. Still, the legacy of the former bantamweight champion (up to 61,2 kg) does not seem to be unanimous. Current holder of the division belt, Julianna Pena believes that the fact that he abandoned his MMA career after two consecutive defeats is a stain on “Rowdy’s” career.

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“Ronda is so outdated, right? I think the amazing thing about her was that she opened the door and destroyed people in 10 seconds. She became a star by running people over in the first round, but she was knocked out twice and never made it back. So how legitimate is it?” asked Peña during his appearance on “MMA Hour”, a podcast on the North American website “MMA Fighting”.

Ronda Rousey she remained undefeated and overwhelming in her career between 2011 and 2015, finishing all her fights before the end of the third round. In her last two appearances in the octagon, however, the former champion was knocked out by Holly holm e Amanda nunes and chose to hang up his gloves and venture into WWE. For Peña, this was enough to have ruined his legacy in MMA.

“She had to go to pro-wrestling. I understand and I think it's great. But as a fighter and someone who is competitive, I know that leaving after two knockout losses and never coming back probably really bothers you. If it really bothers you, the fact that her legacy was ruined by never coming back, I invite her with open arms to come back,” said the champion.

Lastly, Julianna Pena called Ronda Rousey of a “joke” and “sellout” and offered to face the former champion if she wishes to return to the octagon.

“She's kind of a joke in the MMA world right now because she's a sellout. She sold herself a little. Pro-wrestling is fake, you get paid millions of dollars, I understand. But for me, to truly be the best you have to be in the UFC. If she wants some of that real smoke, I’m ready,” she finished.