LONDON – Ketlen Vieira doesn’t think Julianna Pena should fight for the title next.
With the UFC’s women’s bantamweight title now vacant, former champion Peña sees a fight between her and Raquel Pennington as the matchup that makes most sense.
But because Peña just lost her title to Amanda Nunes, Vieira (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) agrees with Pennington, but says Peña shouldn’t be one half of the vacant title fight.
“I think Raquel Pennington deserves it. She’s coming off five wins,” Vieira told reporters at her UFC Fight Night 224 post-fight news conference. “A lot of people think that I beat her, but I’m not here to cry over that. I do think that she deserves it. But Julianna Peña – it doesn’t make too much sense for someone coming off a loss to be fighting for the title.”
Vieira returned to the win column at UFC Fight Night 224 on Saturday when she defeated Pannie Kianzad by unanimous decision at The O2. The Brazilian has now won three of her past four.
“I see myself as the person that if you want to get to the belt, you have got to get through me,” Vieira said.
Vieira used a grapple-heavy approach to frustrate Kianzad, and says her control throughout the majority of the fight made it a definitive win.
“I’ve never had an easy run in the UFC. I’ve always faced the biggest names,” Vieira said. “I don’t believe in shortcuts. I believe you have to always face the toughest challenges and I knew Pannie was going to be a tough challenge.
“You really show how good you are, your worth, when you fight on the ground – not just when you land a lucky shot or a lucky knockout. I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I knew she was going to come in strong, and I knew it was going to be three rounds. I don’t feel I’m better than anyone, but I showed that I’m better over three rounds.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
