Kayla Harrison reacts to Julianna Pena’s constant trash talk, steroid accusations: ‘It kind of screams insecurity’

Kayla Harrison doesn’t hear confidence when it comes to Julianna Peña and her trash talk.

Peña defends her women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 316 this Saturday in Newark, N.J. The bout serves as Harrison’s first opportunity to win UFC gold and Peña’s first title defense in her second reign as champion.

For several months, Peña has constantly trashed Harrison in the media and at press conferences every chance she gets. Harrison doesn’t take it personally as she tries to understand the constant verbal barrage coming her way.

“I think it just, for me, it kind of screams insecurity,” Harrison told MMA Fighting. “When I see her talk or when I hear her some of the stuff she says, I feel like it’s fear. And it’s not personal for me. She could say whatever she wants about me. At the end of the day, we get locked in a cage, and that’s where I’m gonna do my talking.

“I think that that’s just who she is. I think that’s part of her shtick, you know, like, she’s the same way with me that she was with Amanda [Nunes]. She always is kind of yapping. So I think that’s just her personality. And I just feel bad that she lives life that way. Sounds like a terrible existence.”

One of the shots Peña continues to take involves cheating accusations after claiming Harrison abused steroids during her career. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo can’t help but snicker at those comments, considering she believes she may have endured more drug tests throughout her combat sports career than anybody else on the UFC roster.

“It’s just like she’s kind of always throwing spaghetti at the wall,” Harrison said. “Before I signed with UFC it was like, ‘Well, if she wants to be in a real promotion, she has to make a real weight and 135 is where it’s at,’ and so then I signed with the UFC and I cut down to 135 pounds, and now I’m a weight bully, but that’s the only weight class they have. It’s not my choice, and the steroids thing is just like, again, it’s funny to me.

“I’ve never taken steroids. I got drug tested for the first time when I was in middle school because that was when I was in the top five on the national roster for judo. And so that’s when the U.S. sort of started testing, and I’ve been tested... I mean, I’ve been tested probably more than any athlete in the UFC. One time, I got tested 4 times in a month, between WADA, the tournaments I went to, and I competed at, I got tested there, and then I got tested when I got home. So she can say whatever she wants, but I know I’m clean, and again, I work really, really f*cking hard.

“I didn’t look like this when I competed in judo because I was 170 pounds. It’s a lot of discipline, and I have a really good team around me who fuel me properly, and I’m proud of it. I’m proud of my body of work, and I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished clean, and there’ll never be a blemish on that because I’ve never taken anything. I was afraid to take Flintstone Vitamins when I started getting drug tested at 12. So my whole life, you know when you drive by a cop and you’re not speeding but you automatically [slow down]? I’ve had that feeling [of], ‘Oh, you know what, I better not take any supplements.’ I’ve had that [feeling] my whole life.”

Peña regained the bantamweight title with a razor-close decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 this past October. “The Venezuelan Vixen” won the belt for the first time with a memorable stoppage over Amanda Nunes in a stunning upset at UFC 269 in December 2021. Coincidentally, Harrison also competed at UFC 307, where she, too, was on the right end of a decision against Ketlen Vieira.

In her octagon debut after a very successful run in PFL, Harrison destroyed former UFC champ Holly Holm at UFC 300, and it appeared her chance to fight for UFC gold would arrive quickly. It’s something Harrison has been visualizing, both with the road to a title fight and then all the way up to the moment when Dana White wraps the belt around her waist.

“Of course, I visualize it every night,” Harrison said. “Yeah, I’m very much looking forward to it, and this is what it’s all about. It’s all about daring to dream big and I know that I’ve put it in the work, I know that I have the best team, I have the best game plan, I’m prepared, I’m ready, and that the fruits of my labor, to feel those feelings, to feel the weight of the UFC belt go around my waist. I’ll probably give Dana a big old kiss on his bald head and just like hug my family, and yeah, I can’t wait for that moment.

“[The headlines will read] greatest combat athlete of all time.”