An MMA Thanksgiving: 2016 All-Turkey Team

Julianna Pena

Pena did herself no favors in the public relations department -- or locker room -- when she reportedly turned down a proposed bout with Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 205 in New York. “The Venezuelan Vixen” also threatened to quit the Ultimate Fighting Championship in wake of the promotion’s decision to grant Ronda Rousey a title shot against Amanda Nunes on Dec. 30, calling Rousey a “spoiled brat.” Pot, meet kettle.

“Never in the history have I ever heard of somebody have a no-controversy brutal knockout, then quit the sport and then come back and get a title shot right away,” Pena told MMA Fighting in a scathing interview. “She’s literally the worst fighter on the roster, and I can’t stomach the fact that I’m not getting the title shot. Maybe I’ll go fight for Combate [Americas] or something because it sounds like they want to pay me serious money and actually give me a belt right off the bat just like they did with Ronda in the UFC. They just handed Ronda a belt and Combate will hand me a belt, so I don’t know. We’ll see how that goes.”

Public reaction was swift and unfavorable for “The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner. Sherdog columnist Todd Martin examined the situation in detail and voiced his disapproval.

No one denies Pena’s talents or her place at the table as a future title contender at 135 pounds. However, it appears as though her grip on reality has grown shaky at best. Pena seems to think that wins over Jessica Rakoczy, Milana Dudieva, Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano give her the Conor McGregor-type leverage necessary to call her own shots. Those four women are a combined 4-11 in the UFC, and Zingano, clearly the best of the bunch, lost to Rousey in 14 seconds.

Pena is not dealing from a position of strength, as she has neither the resume nor the following to give ultimatums. Beating Shevchenko -- their meeting would have undoubtedly been looked at as a title eliminator, with the winner moving on to face either Rousey or Nunes -- would have at least given her some more ammunition. Shevchenko has gone 2-1 since arriving in the UFC, with victories over former Strikeforce titleholder Sarah Kaufman and former UFC champion Holly Holm sandwiched around a unanimous decision loss to Nunes in which all three judges awarded her the third round. She has as strong of a claim on a title shot as Pena. Nevertheless, Pena, a woman with a grand total of 10 professional bouts under her belt, considered a fight with Shevchenko an insult. The MMA community can only shake its head in a collective groan.

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