UFC bantamweight Julianna Pena has revealed she would still someday like to face Ronda Rousey, but not now.

Pena’s beef with the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion goes back to The Ultimate Fighter 18. Pena, as part of Miesha Tate’s team, was matched up with Shayna Baszler, Rousey’s friend and coach.

Before their matchup, Rousey claimed Pena didn’t belong in the same cage as Baszler. But Pena submitted the veteran Baszler, she then went on to win the entire tournament.

“You don’t forgot something like that,” Pena recently told MMA Fighting. “When someone disrespects you like Ronda did to me you don’t forget that.”

Back then, Rousey was MMA’s biggest superstar, but now, Pena is the one on the rise. Unbeaten in four official UFC fights, Pena will meet Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of UFC on FOX 23 on Saturday in Denver, with the winner expected to get the next shot at current women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Rousey, of course, has taken a big tumble, as she’s been knocked out in back-to-back fights by Holly Holm and Nunes.

As far as Pena is concerned, for now, fighting Rousey isn’t necessarily a fight that will prove she is the best in the world.

“What I’m here to do it prove I’m the best fighter in the world,” Pena said. “Ronda doesn’t have the belt anymore. Amanda Nunes does. Beating Ronda does not prove to the world that I’m the best fighter, so I have no time for that right now. I’m going to beat Valentina and then I’m going to fight Amanda and show everyone who’s the best.”

She says if the fight was offered to her at the right time, she would take it.

“I predicted a first-round knockout,” Pena said. “I saw it coming. Ronda doesn’t like being punched in the face nothing is going to change that. Don’t be afraid of her takedowns, go in close and hit her and hit her again and again. We don’t even know if she’s going to come back so I can’t think too much about Ronda right now. But yeah, if the fight came up at the right time of course I’d still take it.”

Julianna Pena takes on Valentina Schevchenko in the main event of UFC on Fox 23 this Saturday.

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