Venezuelan on Holly Holm: “I thought it was crazy!”

Juliana “The Venezuelan Vixen” Pena was ecstatic with a Holly Holm victory over then champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. Pena is currently ranked #5 in the UFC official bantamweight division.

Pena took Jessica Eye to the fight to the scorecards and came out with a unanimous decision victory at UFC 192 against Eye. An injury back in 2013 derailed the TUF season 18 winner until she returned back to the octagon back in April of this year.

“I’ve been in the UFC octagon six times, and I’ve beat everybody that they’ve put in front of me,” Pena told MMAjunkie, while attending this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 79 event, in South Korea. “I consider those real fistfights, and I feel like I’ve been on a tear since the UFC put me inside the Zuffa octagon. I count those as real fights. Maybe other people don’t, but I do.”

On TUF 18, Pena was on the team that was coached by Rousey and rattled off three straight wins to take the home the trophy. Pena is close to a title shot with her recent win over Eye; however, a few other names come first before her day to contend for the title. Interesting match ups with Rousey, Tate, Nunes and Cingano are all in the mix for a shot at the champion.

“I thought it was crazy,” Pena said. “I’ve never been more excited for another 135-pound female in my life. I was very happy for Holly. I thought she executed her game plan to a T. I think she shocked the world and broke the Internet, and I couldn’t have been happier for her.”

In the spirit of competition, Pena is up there with best of them. Her grinding style and the pressure she delivers in a fight has overwhelmed her past opponents. When do you think “The Venezuelan Vixen” will get her shot at gold?