UFC 316: Kayla Harrison submits Julianna Peña, wins belt and challenges Amanda Nunes

Kayla Harrison defeated Julianna Peña by submission at UFC 316 , which took place on Saturday night (7). With the victory, the former judoka became the organization's new women's bantamweight champion.

Kayla began the fight by walking forward, cornering the then champion, and after feinting, she managed to take her down. The two-time Olympic judo champion dominated the ground with a greater volume of blows.

In an attempt to get up, Julianna performed an illegal pedal kick that hit Harrison's nose and ended up having a point deducted as punishment.

Peña came back more aggressive in the second round, but continued to walk backwards and ended up pressed against the fence once again. On the ground, Kayla landed a sequence of elbows, totaling more than four minutes of ground control.

Next, the former judoka locked in an arm triangle and submitted Julianna, becoming the newest Ultimate champion. After the end of the fight, the two athletes hugged and began to pray for each other, in a moving and unusual scene in the Ultimate.

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After delivering her victory speech, Kayla looked out at the Prudential Center crowd with just one person in her sights: Amanda Nunes, who dominated the category for seven years, retiring in 2023.

In April, however, the Brazilian announced that she would come out of retirement to face the new bantamweight champion, regardless of who it was — at the time, the belt already belonged to Julianna Peña.

“Amanda, I see you! Bring it on, bring it on! This is the next fight. For a long time I said, 'I want what she has.' Now I have the belt and she has the legacy,” confessed the new champion.

The Brazilian went to the octagon and greeted the current title holder, confirming, once again, that she is back in the UFC and wants to win back the belt.

“I’m definitely [coming back]. We knew this was going to happen. I’m more than happy to come back and fight you. Congratulations, great job and see you up ahead!” said the owner of the biggest name in the division.