Julianna Pena hopeful for Ronda Rousey UFC return: “Has an ass-whooping coming to her”

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena is hoping Ronda Rousey returns to MMA.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has been out of the cage for over a year, since her rematch with Amanda Nunes. At UFC 277 last July, Julianna Pena was battered en route to a unanimous decision defeat. As a result, she lost her bantamweight title, just six months after she shook up the world against ‘The Lioness’.

Over a year after that defeat, the contender isn’t any closer to returning to the cage. Julianna Pena was previously booked to face Nunes in a trilogy bout at UFC 289 but was forced out due to injury. The Brazilian later defeated short-notice replacement Irene Aldana, with the former champion in attendance.

Following the win, Amanda Nunes famously retired, vacating the women’s bantamweight title. Currently, there’s no scheduled vacant championship fight, but Julianna Pena is widely expected to be involved. If it’s up to her, she’d like a fight with former champion, Ronda Rousey.

‘Rowdy’ hasn’t competed since December 2016, when she lost to Amanda Nunes. While the former champion hasn’t publically discussed a comeback, several, including Chelsea Chandler, have discussed Ronda Rousey returning. On The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Julianna Pena gave her thoughts on the possible fight.

RELATED: JULIANNA PENA STILL FRUSTRATED BY AMANDA NUNES RETIRING: “WE DO HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS”

“I was hopeful, I hope Ronda comes back,” Julianna Pena stated on The MMA Hour when asked about a potential Ronda Rousey return. “She’s another who’s had an ass-whooping coming to her for ten years, same as Raquel [Pennington]. So, let’s go! Sometimes [I watch Ronda in the WWE], but I don’t pay for cable so I don’t follow it that closely.”

She continued, “But, I think she does a good job. Her and Shayna [Bazler] have got some bad blood, I saw that… But it’s one of those things that probably, like Brock Lesnar has done, where they’re in the negotiations with the WWE. So, they tease the whole UFC thing in order to get those contracts at the WWE even bigger. I’m pretty sure that’s what she’s doing.”

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Julianna Pena vs. Ronda Rousey?