Julianna Peña (UFC) Wiki, Height, Weight, Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Julianna Peña is an American professional mixed martial artist who has competed in the Bantamweight category of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion in 2011 and the first-ever female fighter to win The Ultimate Fighter. She also works as an announcer in Combate Americas’ English language broadcast on DAZN. In August 2022, she was ranked #1 in the UFC women’s Bantamweight rankings. As of September 2023, she has been ranked #4 in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Wiki/Biography

Julianna Nicole Peña was born on Saturday, 19 August 1989 (age 34 years; as of 2023) in Spokane, Washington, U.S. Her zodiac sign is Leo.

Julianna completed her education at Mt. Spokane High School in 2007 and later joined the Spokane Community College. Peña was an aggressive child and she used to get bullied by her siblings. At the age of 19, she took a cardio kickboxing class to manage weight and aggression along with her sister, which led her to pursue mixed martial arts. She has been a part of martial arts teams, including SikJitsu since 2008, Luiz Claudio Combat Team, and Valle Flow Striking since 2016. In a podcast she said,

I needed to lose weight and I was getting bullied. By bullied I mean, I am the baby of four, and my brothers and sisters, they beat the crap out of me. So I was getting the tail-end of a ton of beating and I was always super-aggressive as a kid and I didn’t know where to channel that. At 19 years old, my sister asked me to join a women’s cardio kickboxing class and I needed to lose some weight, so I joined the class.”

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 7″

Weight (approx.): 61 kg

Hair Colour: Black and blonde

Eye Colour: Black

Figure Measurements (approx.): 32-28-34

Family

Julianna belongs to a Mexican and Venezuelan descent family from Washington. In an interview she said,

My family loves to cook all the time. That’s definitely something I connect with in my culture. Every week, we’ll have family dinner at my brother’s house, where it will be all sorts of Mexican food because my mother is Mexican. She makes some really good enchiladas.”

Parents & Siblings

Julianna’s father is Ernie Pena, who worked as a boilermaker, and her mother, Pamela Pena, is a homemaker.

Julianna is the youngest in her family with four siblings. Her eldest sister, Grace Pena, used to work as a KREM 2 reporter and a morning and noon meteorologist. Her brother’s name is Erick Pena and her second sister’s is Jocelyn Pena.

Husband & Children

Julianna married Luis Alejandre, who is a Brazilian Jui-Jutsu trainer and practitioner. In October 2017, they had a daughter named Isabella Cruz.

Relationship/Affair

Julianna dated Luis Alejandre before getting married to him.

Religion

Julianna is a Christian. ¹

Signature/Autograph

Career

Early Career

After securing a 2–0 record as an amateur, Peña started her professional MMA journey on 9 May 2009 in the Excite Fight against Raylene Harvey. She achieved four straight wins before facing her first loss on 19 April 2012 against Sarah Moras at Conquest of the Cage 11, who later joined The Ultimate Fighter 18. This defeat came shortly after Peña had a run-in with a drunk driver in downtown Spokane, which left her unconscious with a broken nose. Despite the setback, she returned to the ring ten months later and shifted from the Bantamweight to the Flyweight division. She fought against DeAnna Bennett on 8 February 2013 at Showdown Fights 10 in the Flyweight category but lost the match by unanimous decision.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2013, Peña was selected as one of the participants in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. To secure her spot in the house, Peña faced Gina Mazany and won by a unanimous decision win after two rounds. Her first tournament fight in the house was against top-ten-ranked fighter, Shayna Baszler. The match was chosen by Ronda Rousey to take place on 11 September 2013. She saw Peña, an underdog against Baszler, who was more favoured. Peña attacked with intense knee strikes in the second round and took Baszler off balance. The fight moved on to the ground, where Peña took control and won the fight with a rear naked choke in what was one of the season’s biggest surprises. On 30 November 2013, at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale, Peña went up against Jessica Rakoczy. Peña won with a TKO just before the first round ended, and earned the title of TUF 18 Women’s Bantamweight Champion, setting her professional record at 5 wins and 2 losses.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Injury

On 15 March 2014, Peña was scheduled to fight Jessica Andrade at UFC 171. However, she had to withdraw due to a serious right knee injury that she got during her training. This injury affected her ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus. Despite the extent of the damage, doctors made sure that, after surgery and rehab, Peña’s knee would fully recover. This setback would mean that she couldn’t compete for the remaining time in 2014.

UFC Return

Peña made a successful return on 4 April 2015, at UFC Fight Night 63. She fought against Milana Dudieva and won the fight in the first round with a TKO. This victory earned her the Performance of the Night bonus. On 3 October 2015, at UFC 192, she faced Jessica Eye and secured a win through unanimous decision.

She then went up against former title holder, Cat Zingano at UFC 200 on 9 July 2016, and won the fight by a unanimous decision.

However, on 28 January 2017, at UFC on Fox 23, she was defeated by Valentina Shevchenko in the second round through an armbar submission. In an interview she said,

I think there are some rematches I want to do. I would like to go down and rematch Valentina Shevchenko, I would love to get that rematch against Germaine de Randamie, I would love a rematch – if that’s what she wants – against Amanda Nunes. Those are the rematches that I have in my peripheral.”

Valentina Shevchenko vs Julianna Pena

Peña announced her pregnancy on 14 October 2017 and took a break from MMA. She made a comeback on 13 July 2019, at UFC Fight Night 155, after nearly two and a half years. She faced former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Nicco Montaño as a replacement for injured Sara McMann. She won the match against Montano by a unanimous decision.

On 28 March 2020, Peña was set to fight Aspen Ladd at UFC on ESPN 8, but she had to withdraw due to an injury in March 2020. Later, on 4 October 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana, Peña faced Germaine de Randamie and was defeated in the third round by a guillotine choke.

On 16 January 2021, she was initially scheduled to fight Sara McMann at UFC on ABC 1. However, the fight was rescheduled to UFC 257 on 24 January 2021. Peña won the match with a third-round submission. Peña was scheduled to compete against Holly Holm on 8 May 2021, at UFC on ESPN 24. However, Holm had to pull out because of hydronephrosis.

Bantamweight champion

Peña was set to compete against Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship on 7 August 2021, at UFC 265. But on 29 July 2021, Nunes tested positive for COVID-19. The fight was then moved to UFC 269 on 11 December 2021. Pena won the fight in the second round and earned the championship title with a rear-naked choke submission. This win was considered one of the greatest upsets in UFC history. On 5 February 2022, it was revealed that Peña and Nunes would coach The Ultimate Fighter 30 on ESPN+, featuring heavyweight and women’s flyweight division contestants. Peña faced Amanda Nunes for a rematch at UFC 277 on 30 July 2022. She lost the match by unanimous decision. They were set for a third face-off on 10 June 2023, at UFC 289. However, Peña had to withdraw on 2 May 2023, due to broken ribs from training. Irene Aldana initially lined up for UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill, stepped in as her replacement. After Nunes defeated Aldana, she retired, ensuring that a third bout with Peña would never happen.

Awards/Titles/Achievements

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

• UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship (One time)
  

  Pena’s UFC title belt

• The Ultimate Fighter 18 Tournament Winner
  

  Pena’s Ultimate Fighter trophy

• Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Milana Dudieva, Amanda Nunes
  

  Pena’s Performance of the Night award

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

MMAjunkie.com

• 2021 January Submission of the Month vs. Sara McMann

• 2021 December Submission of the Month vs. Amanda Nunes

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes<

Cageside Press

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

LowKick MMA

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

Sherdog

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

ESPN

• 2021 Female Fighter of the Year

Bleacher Report

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

MMA Sucka

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

Yahoo! Sports

• 2021 Submission of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

Daily Mirror

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

Lowkick MMA

• 2021 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes

World MMA Awards

• 2022 Upset of the Year vs. Amanda Nunes at UFC 269

Controversy

Julianna Peña Commits to Counseling After Assault Arrest

Julianna Peña, a UFC fighter, was investigated for assaulting two bar employees. After the UFC’s own investigation, they decided not to let Peña fight for a while. Also, they said she could fight again soon. Peña has agreed to get counselling before she returns. She was trying to help her friend, Joshua Gow, who was hurt in a fight when the bar incident happened. If Peña stays out of trouble for a year, her assault charges will be dropped. Her lawyer said she just reacted when things got heated. The UFC has finished looking into this and made their statement as,

UFC announced today that an investigation into allegations of assault by UFC competitor Julianna Pena is now complete. Pena recently came to a resolution with the Prosecutor’s Office in Spokane County, Washington. The resolution was thoroughly reviewed by Campbell & Williams, a Las Vegas-based law firm hired by UFC to oversee its investigation into the matter. UFC elected not to schedule Pena for a bout while the legal proceedings were ongoing. Now that the matter has been resolved, Pena is eligible to return to competition in the UFC and will be scheduled for a bout in the near future. While UFC is supportive of the resolution of Pena’s criminal matter, Pena acknowledges that her actions as a professional athlete should reflect well of her, the sport of mixed martial arts, and the UFC. Consequently, Pena has volunteered to participate in counseling as a condition for her return to the Octagon.” ²

Car Collection

• Mercedes Benz
  

  Julianna with her car

• Audi Q5

• Ford Navigator

Bike Collection

• Customised Activa
  

  Julianna with her bike

Salary/Income

• TUF 18 Finale: W (Rakoczy) – $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 win bonus)

• UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas: W (Dudieva) – $80,000 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus)

• UFC 192: W (Eye) – $32,500 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 win bonus, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC 200: W (Zingano) – $66,500 ($32,000 to show, $32,000 win bonus, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Pena: L (Shevchenko) – $42,500 ($40,000 to show, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

• UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd: W (Montano) – $85,000 ($40,000 to show, $40,000 win bonus, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana: L (de Randamie) – $50,000 ($45,000 to show, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 257: W (McMann) – $95,000 ($45,000 to show, $45,000 win bonus, $5,000 fight week incentive pay)

• UFC 269: W (Nunes) – $332,000 ($125,000 to show, $125,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $32,000 fight week incentive pay)

Career Earnings: $799,500 ³

Net Worth

Julianna has a Net Worth of $3 Million. ⁴

Favourites

• Boxer: Mike Tyson

• Colour: Black

Facts/Trivia

• Julianna Pena is known as “The Venezuelan Vixen” in the octagon.

• When she joined her kickboxing and MMA classes, she didn’t have any money to pay so she used to clean the gym instead to continue her training. Her coach used to call her ” Julie Clean” because of that. ⁵

• In 2013, Peña was a part of the award-winning mixed martial arts documentary called Fight Life, which was directed by James Z. Feng.

• Pena owns a Yorkie named Groot. In 2013, Pena had a rottwieler named Killer Dog (KD).
  

  Julianna with her puppy

  

  Pena’s rottweiler

• Julianna earned a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under her coach, Luiz Claudio.
  

  Julianna’s purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

• She has her own website and merchandise store at Juliannapena.com.
  

  Julianna’s merch site

• Julianna Pena is a playable chatterer in the EA Sports game series of UFC.
  

  Julianna Peña in UFC 4 game

• Julianna enjoys playing piano in her free time. She also likes to play golf in her free time.
  

  Julianna playing the piano

  

  Pena playing golf

• Julianna consumes a non-vegetarian based diet.
  

  Julianna’s diet

• She occasionally consumes alcohol.
  

  Julianna holding a bottle of wine

• Pena has multiple sponsorships from companies like Jones Soda Co, Columbia Care, A Cannabis Company, No B.S. Skincare, Asana Health, and Fyllo.
  

  Julianna’s partnership promotion with No B.S. Skincare

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