Julianna Pena News

Drake Riggs - June 1, 2021

Julianna Pena is next in line for Amanda Nunes. Between the two experienced bantamweights, they have multiple common opponents. Yet for “The Venezuelan Vixen,” one, in particular, stands out the most.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes opened up as a big betting favorite for her upcoming title defense against Julianna Pena. It was revealed last week that Nunes will move back down to 135lbs for her next fight and put her belt on the line against Pena at UFC 265, which takes place on August 7 at a location that has yet to be determined. Pena was extremely vocal in the media about wanting to get the title shot and, in a division where there are very few other fresh contenders, UFC president Dana White eventually gave in and gave her the title shot.

Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and rival Julianna Pena reacted after their title fight booking at UFC 265. Nunes vs. Pena will take place on August 7 at UFC 265. Pena was calling for the fight in recent months on social media and in interviews, and after UFC president Dana White admitted that he was thinking about giving her the title shot, the promotion ended up making good on those comments and booking it. Nunes vs. Pena will now take place this summer at UFC 265, though it’s unknown if it will headline or if another title fight will take place on the card. Either way, Nunes vs. Pena should be a highly-anticipated battle.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is interested in having Amanda Nunes fight Julianna Pena next for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Nunes got through Megan Anderson with relative ease at UFC 259, as she tapped her opponent out for her second defense of the UFC women’s featherweight title. At this point, there aren’t any new challenges for Nunes at 145lbs and she is likely going to return down to 135lbs for her next fight. Although “The Lioness” has beaten many of the top contenders at bantamweight already, there are still a couple of fresh fights out there or the champ at 135lbs. One of those potential opponents is Pena, who previously called Nunes out. Both women have expressed interest in a potential fight, and it seems like White likes it, too.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - November 2, 2020

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Aspen Ladd is hoping the promotion can match her up against Julianna Pena or Raquel Pennington next. Ladd was supposed to fight Pena earlier this year but her opponent was forced to withdraw from the contest. Ladd was then booked to fight veteran Sara McMann, but this time it was Ladd who had to withdraw due to a severe knee injury. Ladd is now recovering from her injuries and she hopes to make a full recovery so she can return to the Octagon in 2021.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - June 19, 2019

Former Ultimate Fighter winner Julianna Pena has not fought since January 2017, but she’ll be making her return to the Octagon next month at UFC Sacramento. According to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com, Pena is stepping up on short notice to replace the injured Sara McMann and take on Nicco Montano in a women’s bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night 155, which takes place July 13 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

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 - 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. Congratulations @VenezuelanVixen! 👶💕 pic.twitter.com/xBsk85r9hV

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.”