Women's Bantamweight contenders: Speak up!

 I was motivated to write this post after seeing Julianna Pena after her loss to Kayla Harrison a few days ago call for the winner of the eventual fight between Harrison and Nunes. The comment section was full of people calling her delusional saying she doesn't deserve the opportunity, but not one comment was saying who should get it instead. I completely agree that she is in no way deserving of an immediate rematch against Kayla, or a third fight against Amanda who destroyed her in their last fight. But in the eyes of the UFC Julianna is the only person in the division who has any name value (because she beat Nunes) and will sell the fight with trash talk. They have given people title shots off much less than what Pena has done, so it's not out of the question that she gets a completely undeserved rematch.

This raises the question: Who should face the winner of that fight? Apparently, the contenders in the division don't have the answer to that question, as they have been silent since Kayla won the belt and faced off with Amanda. I understand that not everyone likes to call people out, but a simple social media post calling your shot against the champion, or even for a number one contender's fight against Pena could be a difference maker in what the UFC does. Let's be honest. The women's 135 division is the worst division in the UFC and has not made much progress since the time of Ronda Rousey. While this isn't a good thing, this means that everyone within the division is only 1-2 wins away from a title fight. In a division where it is this easy to rise to the top, contenders need to be speaking out and calling for fights, instead of just waiting for whatever the UFC tells them. A prime example is Norma Dumont, who is on a 5-fight win streak and is way more deserving of a title shot than Pena, but she's said next to nothing about a title shot. 

Contenders: Do something! There is no division easier to get a title shot, take advantage of that and call for the fights you deserve and even the ones you don't because you can very easily get them.

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