Mayra Bueno Silva sent a word of warning to former bantamweight titleholder Julianna Peña.
On January 20, Bueno Silva will return to the Octagon for a showdown with Raquel Pennington in the UFC 297 co-main event. The winner will walk away as the new bantamweight champion after ex-champion Amanda Nunes vacated the title earlier this year.
The announcement came as a surprise to many fans after Bueno Silva was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a banned substance resulting in her submission victory over Holly Holm being overturned. Despite that, Bueno Silva, who sits as the division’s No. 1 ranked contender, will still get her shot at UFC gold.
Perhaps more surprisingly was the fact that Julianna Peña, a former champion of the division, was passed over for the opportunity. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has since slammed the UFC’s decision, calling Bueno Silva a cheater in the process.
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Mayra Bueno Silva addressed Peña’s comments. Suffice to say, she did not hold back.
“Hey, Julianna,” Bueno Silva said, “I will kill you. When you talk about mental health, you show you’re not good people. Everyone knows I had problems with anxiety because of my mental health. When you use this to promote yourself, it’s not a good person.”
Bueno Silva’s four-and-a-half month suspension was associated with the use of ADHD medication, something she has taken throughout her fight career without prior issue.
Asked why she has so much animosity for Peña, Bueno Silva pointed directly to the former champ’s cocky attitude and her penchant for talking more than fighting.
“Look, the girl thinks she’s the champion but she’s not the champion,” Bueno Silva said. “Can someone please tell her she lost the last fight [against Amanda Nunes]? When she had an opportunity, she ran away from Amanda. Now she ran again. You know the toy, the chicken you squeeze and the chicken, ‘squawk squawk,’ Julianna is like that. Julianna only talks bullsh*t. She’s not a great fighter. She runs from every opportunity. She’s a noisy chicken.”
Mayra Bueno Silva on Julianna Peña: I don't know if she wanna fight. She wanna talk.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/cV789UPnSE
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) November 15, 2023
Mayra Bueno Silva Expects Her First Title Defense to Be Against Julianna Peña
Julianna Peña was thought to be a shoo-in for a spot in the vacant bantamweight title fight, but ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ was reportedly unavailable for the January date due to an injury. Bueno Silva suspects that once she handles business with Raquel Pennington, her first title defense will be against Peña.
“I will take this belt, I will finish Raquel, I knock out Raquel, and then I’ll show Julianna who is a cheater,” Bueno Silva said. “I’ll punch her too much. I don’t know if she wants to fight. She wants to talk. She doesn’t want to fight, because she ran from Amanda and now she ran again.”
Earning her way into the UFC with a 62-second submission victory over Dana White’s Contender Series, ‘Sheetara’ has gone 5-2-1 with wins over Gillian Robertson, Stephanie Egger, and Lina Länsberg. The biggest victory of her career came against former bantamweight titleholder Holly Holm before it was changed to a no-contest by the NSAC.
“I will think about my life when I finish Julianna Peña,” Bueno Silva said. “This thing starts when I finish Julianna Peña, because my focus is on Raquel, but my belt is really my belt when I finish Julianna Peña.”
Watch the full interview below:
