Harrison put Pena on the back foot early and, after taking the champion to the mat in the first round, things went from bad to worse for “The Venezuelan Vixen”, who connected twice with two illegal up-kicks that resulted in referee Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro punishing her with a point deduction for intentional illegal strikes.
Harrison was unruffled by those illegal strikes, and in the second round, he secured victory after taking Pena to the mat again.
With the fight on the ground, Harrison slowly, systematically moved Pena onto her back. And, after applying heavy shoulder pressure in an attempt to move into an arm-triangle choke position, she switched techniques and locked up a Kimura in the closing seconds of the round to force the quick tap with just five seconds left in the round.
After the fight, an emotional Harrison and Pena both shared a respectful moment together as they prayed together, before Harrison went on to have her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“I want to say thank you,” said Harrison.
“First of all, this is for my family, whom I love, my two beautiful children at home, Kyla and Emery. I love you unconditionally. My family has always supported me. I’m so grateful for them.
“This is for the fans. I thank all of you, whether you love me or you hate me, you are the lifeblood of this sport. Thank you so so much. This is for you.
“This is for anyone who’s ever felt hopeless, who’s wanted to quit, who’s wanted to give up. I’ll tell you what, on Thursday night, I wanted to quit. I wanted to give up. But there’s a still small voice inside of you that will tell you ‘don’t give up.’ So don’t give up.
“This is for all the moms, especially the single moms. I know it’s hard, and I know it feels like you’re being punished, but you’re not, you’re being positioned, and you have a place in those children’s lives. You’re there for a reason. You’re seen. God has a plan for you.
“And lastly, I want to say UFC 316… in the Bible, it says in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that we might have eternal life. And it is because of Him, through Him, that I have these gifts, and so they are all for His glory. Thank you, God.”
Harrison also paid tribute to Pena, and said that, despite some heated words in the build-up, there was no lingering bad blood after their fight.
“It’s not personal. We’re here to fight. This is a business,” she explained.
“I love what I do, and I’m grateful that I had a great fighter like Juliana to bring out a better version of me.”
Harrison then invited former bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes into the Octagon, as the two women confirmed to Rogan that they will fight next, with Nunes coming out of retirement in a bid to recapture the title she held twice before.
“Listen to me,” said Harrison.
“This is the greatest fighter of all time. For a long time, I’ve said I want what she has. I have a belt, she has a legacy, let’s put it all on the table.”
Nunes, who warmly congratulated her former teammate on her championship victory, said, “Definitely, I’m more than happy to come back and fight you, Kayla. Congratulations, amazing job. And we’re definitely going to see each other in the future.”
UFC 316: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley via submission (north-south choke) – Round 3, 4:42 – for bantamweight title
- Kayla Harrison def. Julianna Pena via submission (Kimura) – Round 2, 4:55 – for women’s bantamweight title
- Joe Pyfer def. Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Mario Bautista def. Patchy Mix via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kevin Holland def. Vicente Luque via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 1:03
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Joshua Van def. Bruno Silva via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:01
- Azamat Murzakanov def. Brendson Ribeiro via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:25
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Serghei Spivac via decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andreas Gustafsson def. Khaos Williams (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
EARLY PRELIMS
- Wang Cong def. Ariane da Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joo-Sang Yoo def. Jeka Saragih via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:28
- Quillan Salkilld def. Yanal Ashmouz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- MarQuel Mederos def. Mark Choinski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
