Kayla Harrison is the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.Harrison, 34, made light work of Julianna Pena as she submitted the former queen after two rounds at UFC 316 to become the new undisputed champion at 135 lbs.Harrison is the new UFC women’s bantamweight championGettyShe submitted Julianna Pena in the second round of UFC 316’s co-main eventGettyThe referee called a stop to the contest with just five seconds to go in the second round as Pena tapped out instantly to a Kimura from Harrison.After the fight, Harrison faced off with UFC legend Amanda Nunes, who confirmed she would make her highly anticipated MMA return to fight the new champion.“I’m more than happy to come back and fight Kayla,” Nunes said.This came after Harrison had welcomed Amanda Nunes to the Octagon, asserting: “This is the next fight!”“This is for the fans, whether you love me or hate me, you are the life blood of the sport – thank you so much,” Harrison added.Harrison is now undefeated in three straight UFC fights since making her promotional debut in April 2024.She looked so much bigger than Pena from the off, using her striking to keep the distance and set up the clinch.Harrison got her first takedown at the midway point as she looked to finish the fight as soon as possible on the canvas.Then, after the fight was stopped due to an illegal kick from Pena on the ground with seconds to go in the opening stanza, Harrison was up 10-8 on the judges’ scorecards as we entered round two.Pena lost a point in the first round but didn’t take too much damage and looked slightly reenergised when she emerged in the second round.Harrison faced off with MMA legend Nunes in the Octagon after the fightGettyView Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC316?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIt wasn’t long before Harrison had Pena pressed up against the cage once again, but the latter was doing an excellent job at defending her position.Harrison did, however, drag Pena to the ground again and we had a similar story to the opening five minutes.It wasn’t long before Harrison had Pena locked up in a Kimura and the latter tapped out instantly before her arm snapped to pieces.Harrison had dominated everywhere, mainly in the PFL, prior to the UFC as a former two-time Olympic gold medallist representing the USA in women’s judo.She submitted Holly Holm on her debut at UFC 300 before claiming a unanimous decision win over Ketlen Vieira six months later.Harrison was then set up for a title shot against Pena, who reclaimed the bantamweight strap by defeating Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 in October.Nunes dominated both the women’s featherweight and bantamweight divisions in the UFCGettyThe challenger was a huge favourite for the bout, but fans were left concerned by her appearance at the UFC 316 weigh-ins on Friday.Harrison made weight like a true professional, but boasted a skeletal-like appearance that showed the brutalities of a UFC weight cut.Nonetheless, Harrison continued to prove why she is an elite athlete by defeating Pena at UFC 316.