It looks like Cris Cyborg isn’t letting go of her feud with Kayla Harrison just yet! The former American judoka’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric in the MMA sphere. From Olympic gold to PFL dominance, and now a fast track to a UFC title shot. But along the way, she’s collected more than just trophies and belts. For years, fans dreamed of Harrison vs. Cyborg. A super fight with legacy on the line.

But after Bellator was absorbed into the PFL and Harrison jumped ship to the UFC, the bout vanished. And Cyborg? She didn’t just let it slide. From social media jabs to satirical skits, Cyborg has kept the fire burning. Now, that simmering rivalry just flared up again. And this time? It all started with a meme!

Cris Cyborg fires off another salvo at Kayla Harrison as a meme re-ignites their feud

The internet is never short on jokes. But sometimes, a meme does more than just make people laugh, it exposes a wound that seemingly never healed. In a viral post on X, shared by play-by-play commentator Ben Davis, comedian Shane Gillis was seen showing a woman something on his phone. She barely reacts. The captions? Brutally hilarious as the exchange read, “Her name is Kayla”, “Oh that’s cool”, “She’s an Olympian and 2x PFL Champ”, “Oh cool”, “She’s gonna beat the f— out of Peña”, “cool”.

And just like that, the punchline landed, not just on women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena—Kayla Harrison’s upcoming UFC 316 opponent—but right into the notice of Cris Cyborg. The Brazilian fighter fired back with, “She ducked the smoke from Cyborg, after using her name to build equity with fans”

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That one stung. But this wasn’t just about a joke. It was a callout years in the making. The PFL’s acquisition of Bellator had seemingly laid the groundwork for the super fight. But Harrison’s decision to join the UFC sent it all crashing down. In her interview with MMA Junkie a while back, Cyborg had stated, “Everybody knows Kayla Harrison ran away from me. You see Julianna Peña has been talking about this.”

The rivalry had always been half-personal, half-promotional. But when PFL co-founder Donn Davis echoed Cyborg’s sentiment, calling Kayla Harrison‘s move ‘disappointing’, it became a chorus. He even argued that Harrison avoided her two biggest challenges, Larissa Pacheco and Cris Cyborg. According to Davis, in a conversation with MMA Today last year, “I don’t like that she ran from those. I don’t like that, and that she ran to a brand to validate herself. I think so highly of Kayla Harrison, she doesn’t need a brand to validate her.”

Still, the results are hard to ignore. Harrison made her UFC debut at UFC 300 and ragdolled former champion Holly Holm. She then bulldozed Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, earning a shot at Julianna Peña. Yet, the Hispanic-American champion has now come out and confessed that despite her holding the belt and her list of accomplishments, she’s still overshadowed by Harrison!

Julianna Pena slams “disrespectful” odds as she prepares to defend her crown against Harrison

You’d think toppling Amanda Nunes would be enough to earn lasting respect. But Julianna Peña, the only woman to submit ‘The Lioness’ inside the Octagon and a two-time UFC bantamweight champ, still feels like she’s fighting a uphill battle. And this time, the disrespect stings more than the punches.

At the UFC 316 media day, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ stated, “I thought beating the greatest of all time was going to give me that respect and it didn’t, so you never know. I say this often, but it’s so true, it’s never enough. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s never enough. Everybody’s always going to want more from you.”

It’s a familiar path. At UFC 269, she shocked the world with her second-round rear-naked choke win over Nunes. Many called it a fluke, especially after she dropped the belt in their rematch. But Pena didn’t vanish. She returned at UFC 307 and edged out Raquel Pennington via split decision to reclaim gold.

As such, she continued, “It was told to me that I’m a 6-to-1 underdog and being a 6-to-1 underdog as a champion is very disrespectful, No. 1. No. 2, everybody’s counting me out.”

To wrap things up, as UFC 316 approaches, from Cris Cyborg’s accusations to Donn Davis’ disappointment, the echoes of a fight that never happened seem louder than ever. Meanwhile, Julianna Pena stands at the center of the storm, carrying gold but still feeling overlooked. So the question is, will UFC 316 finally force the MMA world to stop underestimating her? Or will Kayla Harrison’s hype train steamroll yet another doubter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!