Julianna Pena News

Cole Shelton - April 15, 2021

Amanda Nunes will attempt to defend her bantamweight title for the first time since 2019 this summer. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Nunes will defend her 135-pound strap against Julianna Pena at UFC 265. The date or the location of the event is no certain, but August 7 is the most likely date.

Adam Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that he is thinking about booking UFC women’s bantamweight championship Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena. Nunes is coming off of a quick submission win over Megan Anderson at UFC 259 in a 145lbs title defense, and the promotion is looking to turn her back around quickly in a 135lbs title fight. The one fighter in the women’s bantamweight division who has been the most vocal about getting the fight with Nunes is Pena, the former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner. Pena is coming off of a submission win over Sara McMann and she believes that win should be enough to get her the title shot in what is a shallow division in terms of fresh contenders.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021

Julianna Pena has a message for Amanda Nunes: Vacate the bantamweight title if you’re not going to defend it. Nunes currently holds the UFC bantamweight featherweight titles, and has defended both multiple times. Her last two fights, however, have both been featherweight title defenses, which has evidently drawn the frustration of Pena.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Julianna Pena is setting her sights on a title shot against Amanda Nunes. Nunes currently rules over the UFC bantamweight and featherweight divisions. She returned to the Octagon at UFC 259 last Saturday, defending the former title with a blowout, first-round submission victory over Megan Anderson.

Drake Riggs - February 19, 2021

A new contender is needed at 135-pounds. With Holly Holm continuing to make another push toward the title, she next has to get by Julianna Pena. Friday, ESPN broke the news that the former UFC bantamweight queen will do battle with The Ultimate Fighter season 18 winner in Pena on May 8. The location for the fight night event remains to be determined as does whether or not it is the main event.

Adam Martin - January 31, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Aspen Ladd has officially challenged fellow divisional stalwart Julianna Pena to a fight this spring. Ladd took to her social media on Sunday to make the callout of Pena, in response to a tweet of Pena calling out UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Chris Taylor - January 23, 2021

UFC ‘champ champ’ Amanda Nunes has responded after receiving a callout from UFC 257 winner Julianna Pena. Pena (10-4 MMA) returned to the Octagon earlier this evening for a bantamweight bout with Sara McMann. The former TUF 18 winner looked great this evening on Fight Island and wound up finishing McMann with a rear-naked choke in the third round.

Adam Martin - December 27, 2020

An important women’s bantamweight bout between Julianna Pena and Sara McMann has been added to the upcoming UFC 257 pay-per-view card. Pena vs. McMann was originally set to take place at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar, but the fight was pushed back a week to UFC 257 instead. The bout will now take place on January 23 on the undercard of the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2 pay-per-view. With Pena and McMann both being ranked in the top-15 at women’s 135lbs, this is an important fight for both women as they look to move close to a bantamweight title shot.

Chris Taylor - October 3, 2020

Julianna Pena was hoping to solidify herself as a top bantamweight contender by scoring a win over Germaine de Randamie this evening at UFC Fight Island 4. Pena (9-4 MMA) was returning to action for the first time in over a year at tonight’s UFC Fight Island 4 event. In her most recent effort in July of 2019, Pena scored a unanimous decision victory over Nicco Montano.

Chris Taylor - October 3, 2020

Tonight’s UFC Fight Island 4 event features a key women’s bantamweight bout featuring former featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie taking on Julianna Pena. De Randamie (9-4 MMA) enters tonight’s bout with Pena looking to rebound following a unanimous decision loss to Amanda Nunes in her bid for the bantamweight title at UFC 245. Prior to that, ‘GDR’ was coming off a 16-second TKO victory over Aspen Ladd.

Adam Martin - July 26, 2020

An important women’s bantamweight bout between top contenders Julianna Pena and Germaine de Randamie has been added to an upcoming UFC event this fall. MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the matchup between Pena and de Randamie. The fight will take place on October 3 at an event that is not yet official. The location and venue of the event are not yet known, but the report says that either the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or Fight Island in Abu Dhabi could play host to the event and therefore the fight.

Adam Martin - January 10, 2020

An intriguing women’s bantamweight bout between top contenders Julianna Pena and Aspen Ladd has been added to UFC Columbus. UFC on ESPN 8 takes place Saturday, March 28 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The main event is a heavyweight bout between title contenders Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Pena vs. Ladd is expected to take place on the main card.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Julianna Pena has not fought since January of 2017, when she was submitted by Valentina Shevchenko in a bantamweight number-one contender fight. In the time since then, the talented bantamweight contender has become a mother and put in work as a commentator for Combate Americas. That being said, it sounds like Pena is getting the itch to fight again. Speaking on her official Instagram account recently, “The Venezuelan Vixen” updated on her busy life, and discussed her eventual return to the cage.

Drake Riggs - September 19, 2018

The women’s bantamweight division has thinned out over the years after starting out as the thriving inaugural female UFC division. Things are starting to get interesting again though and that can be contributed to prospects making waves and some old staples making returns. One of the missing faces from the usual mix of top contenders has been the first female fighter to ever win a season of The Ultimate Fighter, the season 18 winner Julianna Pena.

Drake Riggs - January 24, 2018

Last week, top-ranked UFC Bantamweight contender and The Ultimate Fighter season 18 winner, Julianna Pena gave birth to baby girl, Issa Cruz. https://twitter.com/ufc/status/955986379724509184

Justin Golightly - October 14, 2017

It wasn’t too long ago that Julianna Pena was knocking on the door to a women’s UFC bantamweight title shot. Things didn’t end up going her way in the Octagon in her last fight, but everything else seems to be doing awesome. She’s a regular part of Combate America’s successful fight cards doing commentary work and now she’s about to take a huge step in her life. Julianna Pena announced on her Instagram that she’s pregnant with a baby girl. However, if any of her division’s fighters think that motherhood is going to save them from a fight, then they’re wrong.  “My goal right now is to have my baby, love my baby, and get back into the Octagon. The division definitely needs me. My main goal is to rematch Valentina [Shevchenko] in my first fight back. I messed up in my last fight, I was overzealous. Having a daughter on the way not only rejuvenated me personally, it gave me so much more to fight for. I’m excited to start this new phase in my life and UFC has been so supportive of me. Dana White was stoked, he loves kids, and told me fighting will always be here waiting for me.” 

Tom Taylor - January 30, 2017

On Saturday night, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Denver, Julianna Peña stepped into the cage with dangerous Kyrgyzstani striker Valentina Shevchenko. She entered this bout on an impressive four-fight win-streak, and if she’d extended that streak to five with a win over Shevchenko, she would have earned herself a shot at Amanda Nunes and the UFC women’s bantamweight title she guards so ferociously. Regrettably for Peña and her many fans, Saturday night was not her night. In advance of the fight, the consensus seemed to be that she had a significant grappling edge over her striking-based foe. In the end, however, Shevchenko was able to succeed on two takedowns in the first round, and in the second, lock up an arm-bar for the win. And just like that Peña’s title dreams came to a skittering – if temporary – halt.

Tom Taylor - January 29, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in The Mile-High City, Denver, Colorado, with UFC on Fox 23. This 12-fight card was an epic one, as a whopping eight of its bouts ended with stoppages, including the evening’s main event, which pitted Kyrgyzstani striker Valentina Shevchenko against American grappling specialist Julianna Peña. In advance of this fight, the striking advantage seemed to rely firmly in the corner of Shevchenko, while Peña was believed to have an advantage on the mat. Ultimately, however, Shevchenko was able to showcase some real evolutions in her game, taking Peña down twice in the first round, and submitting her with a dazzling armbar in the second. The tap occurred at the 4:29 mark of the second frame.