Julianna Peña on Cyclone Offseason

ManMMA Times caught up with Outback Cyclone fighter Julianna Peña after her whirlwind first season in the league.

Finn Gurrer: Congrats on your Rookie of the Year win. What was your reaction when you learned of your win?
Julianna Peña: I didn't expect it in the least. I honestly thought Tai was gonna walk home with the award, but it's a nice piece of hardware on the shelf at home. Just means I'll have a bigger target on my back this season though.

Gurrer: How has this offseason's changes at the gym affected the team?
Peña: There's been a lot of movement on the guy's side of things - but I think we'll come out the better for it. I know Liddell wasn't happy with his sudden contract transfer over here to the other side of the world and wanted to be closer to home, so I'm glad for him that the higher-ups in the organization were able to figure something out - and getting Whit in that exchange as well as Carlos as a pickup also gave us a HUGE boost, as we saw in their first matchups yesterday.

Gurrer: Can you shed some light on the Claudia Gadelha situation?
Peña: So when she went to transfer over here at the same time as Chuck, she ran into a snag with the Australian government. Basically, there's been someone with her name here in the past who got arrested multiple times and finally deported - and it held up her visa application all season. She had to train on her own back home in Brazil, which while she had a phenomenal gym, her motivation and spirits were low. However, she's back with us now! I'm excited to see what she can do with how HARD she's been training and putting in the hours to get better.

Gurrer: We're gonna take some questions from social media now for you. First question: it's rumored the gym has assigned captains. What's up with that and what does that mean?
Peña: It's nothing huge - Tai Tuivasa and I have been named co-captains, which just means we'll be the public face of the gym in terms of update-type interviews and press conferences, as well as assisting the trainer in-gym. Tai will be taking more of the in-gym responsibilities, while you'll be stuck with me more on the public side.

Gurrer: Next question: If you could add wings to any land animal, which - wait, this is from Team GAP . Moving on to the next question: what's the biggest snub for your gym?
Peña: The fact that Kayla Harrison hasn't had a chance to fight for a ranking yet. It's an insult to her abilities as a fighter and an absolute embarrassment to ManMMA. She's been on fire lately and from what I've seen might actually be better than me. I'm excited for the day she gets what she's earned and is given a chance to move up.

Gurrer: Finally, what's your goal for this season?
Peña: Get better personally and lead this gym forward. In my mind I have 12 more rankings to go until I'm satisfied. I can only keep moving forward and getting better - I won't accept anything less.

Gurrer: Thanks for your time - looking forward to the season for you and the entirety of your team.
Peña: Thank you! Look out - Storm's raging!