Julianna Peña was born on 19 August 1989 in Spokane, USA, the fourth child in a family with Mexican and Venezuelan roots. Her introduction to the world of martial arts began thanks to her father, who took her to Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes. Although in childhood she was not able to achieve significant success, 2007 was a turning point for Julianna.
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After graduating from high school, she enrolled at Spokane Community College, and after facing overweight issues, she began actively pursuing cardio kickboxing, which led to her transition into MMA. After two wins at the amateur level, Julianna made her professional debut. On 9 May 2009 at ExciteFight, she defeated Raylene Harvey, ending the fight with a rear-naked chokehold.
In 2012, Julianna Peña was the victim of a drunk driver who hit her while she was walking. The incident left her with multiple bruises and a broken nose. However, just two months after the accident, Julianna returned to the octagon and suffered her first defeat in her professional career, losing early to Sara Moras.
In 2013, Julianna found out that she would be taking part in the popular reality show The Ultimate Fighter, where her UFC contract was on the line. She couldn’t pass up the opportunity. She first defeated Gina Mazany by judges’ decision, then defeated Shayna Baszler via submissions, and later rematched Sara Moras by catching her in a guillotine. In the final bout, Julianna knocked out Jessica Rakoczy, becoming the winner of TUF 18. Notably, Julianna became the first woman to win a season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Julianna’s full UFC debut was delayed due to a knee injury, and she did not return to the octagon until 2015. At UFC Fight Night 63, she defeated Russian Milana Dudieva by technical knockout.
After winning three fights in the UFC, Julianna faced Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of the UFC on Fox 23, which took place in January 2017. In that fight, Peña lost by submission and, in October, announced a temporary pause in her career due to pregnancy.
Peña’s return came in July 2019 at UFC Fight Night 155, where she defeated Nicco Montaño via unanimous decision on judges’ scorecards.
A dominant UFC champion in two weight classes, Amanda Nunez has defeated all of her top opponents. This fact played a role in Julianna Pena getting a title fight despite not having an impressive winning streak. Only her closest people believed in Julianna’s success, while bookmakers and experts left her no chance. However, at UFC 269, which took place on 11 December 2021, Pena surprised everyone by choking out Nunez in the second round. She became the first UFC champion to give birth to a child.
Peña tried to make the most of her moment of fame and stay visible—she attended baseball games, challenged Ronda Rousey to a fight, became a coach for the 30th season of The Ultimate Fighter 30 show alongside Nunes, and claimed she would ‘shut up the naysayers’ in a rematch with the Brazilian. However, the reality turned out to be far more brutal.
On the night of 31 July 2022 at UFC 277, Amanda Nunes soundly defeated Julianna Peña. Although Pena was able to reach the judges’ decision, she was knocked out three times. After this defeat, Julianna took a long time to recover from her injuries but did not forget to remind herself. She was scheduled to face Nunez in a trilogy at UFC 289, but broke her ribs and was replaced by Irene Aldana. At the tournament, Peña came in and rebuked ‘The Lioness’ for running away from her by ending her career.
On 6 October, Peña won the title again, defeating Raquel Pennington by split decision of the judges. The two competed on Season 18 of the TUF show in 2013 and were already looking to meet in the octagon, but Raquel was eliminated in the semifinals and Peña became the season champion. She is now a two-time UFC flyweight champion.