UFC champ Julianna Pena: COVID-19 ‘is just a money grab … they’re trying to kill us’

On the heels of continued controversy surrounding some of his recent guests’ opinions on COVID-19, Joe Rogan’s podcast played host to a new theory Thursday.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena was a guest on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on Spotify and told the longtime UFC analyst listening to two of his episodes featuring doctors with pandemic theories that run counter to the majority of the scientific community helped inform her opinion.

“I listened to (your) podcast with the two doctors, back-to-back – Robert Malone and (Peter McCullough). I mean, that was eye-opening for me,” Pena told Rogan. “I’m a massive conspiracy theorist on this whole thing, and I have been since the very beginning. I’m like, ‘This is just a money grab. This is – they’re trying to kill us, and this is ridiculous.'”

Rogan appeared to be at the very least surprised at Pena’s take on the global COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 70 million people in the U.S. alone and has, at minimum, contributed to the deaths of more than 878,000 in the country.

“Whoa. I don’t think they’re trying to kill us,” Rogan responded. “I think there’s a lot of confusion as far as what works and what doesn’t work. … Reality is, there’s a lot of people scared and a lot of confusion, and there’s also a lot of people that don’t want people discussing things. They only want one narrative, and that’s where it becomes a problem for me.”

In 2020, Spotify bought exclusive streaming rights for Rogan’s podcast in a deal worth a reported $100 million. The show regularly ranks as the most listened-to podcast in America.

Rogan’s podcast episode with Dr. Robert Malone led nearly 300 doctors, physicians and scientists to sign a letter asking Spotify to crack down on COVID misinformation on the streaming platform.

Malone claims he invented the mRNA vaccine. He also has been banned by Twitter for violating COVID-19 misinformation policies, and YouTube has pulled videos of his interview with Rogan for the same reason.

When Rogan had Dr. Peter McCullough on his show, the cardiologist said the pandemic was planned and that vaccines for COVID are merely experimental. McCullough regularly advocates for people to not get vaccinated against COVID.

She said she tested positive for COVID in November 2020. She did not reveal if she’s been vaccinated. She did, however, indicate she’s opposed to mask mandates.

“To me, I don’t put on a mask unless somebody asks me,” Pena said. “And then I’m like, ‘That’s over. Come on.’ … This is ridiculous. I’m sick of this. I’m so sick of it.”

Pena won the women’s bantamweight title with a second-round submission of former two-division champion Amanda Nunes, widely considered the greatest women’s fighter in MMA history, at UFC 269 this past December. Pena was a massive underdog, and her win is considered arguably the biggest upset in UFC history.

List

Twitter reacts to Julianna Pena's title-winning upset of Amanda Nunes at UFC 269

List

Fight Game on the 'Gram: Julianna Pena's best posts before UFC on ESPN 16