Pena came to the spotlight after being the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter. Not to mention she is the former UFC’s Women’s Bantamweight Champion in the bantamweight division. She is best known for landing a spot in Ultimate Fighter and winning the whole show. She is currently known for competing in the bantamweight division of the UFC. In 2008, Penna took her passion more seriously and began training in a cardio kickboxing class. In the following year, in 2009 she got a chance to compete in her debut mature fight where she compete in Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate Finale. After defeating Jessica Rakoczy, Pene came up as the first female fighter to win the Ultimate Fighter. Shoopportunitylaunching her professional career, Julianna got an opportunity to become a member of several teams including Gregory Boxing & Muay Thai, Luiz Claudio Combat Team, and SikJitsu. Her outstanding victories led her to win numerous accolades including:
“Female Fighter of the Year”, and “Upset of the Year” by ESPN and Sherdog, respectively.
Known around the world as The Venezuelan Vixen, Julianna Pena came onto the mainstream stage after her shocking victory against Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 for which she took her career’s biggest paycheck which was around $332 thousand.
In May of 2022, the report came up that Pena is named as the 3rd in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
She established herself as one of the most prominent female fighters in the world. Everything that Pena has in her life, she earned with her two hands, fighting her way to stardom and riches.
11 Wins:
Three by knockoutFive by submissionFive by defeatsThree by decision
Julianna Pena Net Worth:
Julianna Pena’s Net Worth Last 5 Years:
Net Worth in 2022 $2 MillionNet Worth in 2021 $1.9 MillionNet Worth in 2020 $1.6 MillionNet Worth in 2019 $1.5 MillionNet Worth in 2018 $1.2 Million
Earnings From MMA:
As Pena has climbed the Bantamweight and Pound For Pound rankings, she has seen an uptick in her fight pursuit as well.
For her finish against Milan Dudivea and Amanda Nunes, Peña earned herself a nice $50,000 performance of the Night Bonus. When she started her UFC career Pena’s salary was just $16,000 for her first fight at UFC Fight Night: Team Rousey versus Team Tate. That would increase to $30,000 for her second fight along with a $50,000 performance Bonus at UFC 257 in 2021. Some of her recent paychecks include $100,000 Night at the office when she beat Sara McMaan.The Venezuelan Vixen took home a cool $332,000, along with a shiny gold belt, after she defeated Amanda Nunes at UFC 269.
Early Life:
Julianna Peña was born in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of August 1989, after her parents Erin and Pamela migrated from Venezuela to the United States. Her father worked as a boilermaker in Spokane. She grew up along with her three singlings including her older sister Grace Pena who is a former KREM 2 reporter and meteorologist. Pena credits her parents for her work ethic which paid tips in her fighting career. Upon her education, Pena attended Mt. Spokane High School where she graduated in the year 2007. Soon after she enrolled in Spokane Community College. It seems like she had a competitive spiritual age, as she picked up kickboxing in her teens. In order more positively shape and also to channel her aggression more positively. After establishing herself in kickboxing, she switched to mixed martial arts and began training.
Professional MMA Career:
How she started her career in MMA? She competed twice as an amateur, winning both Bouts Handley, before making her professional MMA debut in the year 2009. Pena showed glimpses of a future world champion as she ran through her first 4 opponents quickly. She finished all four of them with either submission or punches. In the 140-pound catchweight match, Pena was defeated by a future competitor Sarah Moras The Ultimate Fighter 18 cast component. Peña was eventually selected for the Ultimate Fighter competition in 2013. From there she won the match by unanimous decision after defeating Gina Mazany. She suffered her first career loss in her fifth professional fight with Saray Moras, which came just 2 months after a deadly accident that left Julianna unconscious with a broken nose. Reversing from such difficulty became a pattern for the future champion, as these earlier setbacks only made her more resilient and hard-working. In that same year, Pena made her professional UFC debut defeating Jessica Rakoczy by TKO. In 2014 she injured her right knee which led her out of the ring for the rest of the movement. It was announced that the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship’s fight between Julianna and Amanda Nunes was delayed after Amanda Nunes tested positive for Covid-19. In the second round, Peña defeated the next expected fight by rear-naked choking the competitor. On the 30th July 2022, the match was held at UFC 277 by a unanimous decision where Peña failed to win the UFC Women’s Bantamweight championship rematch against Amanda Nunes.
Acehviements:
Currently, The Venezuelan Vixen is ranked as the “Best Female Bantamweight Fighter” in the globe, after her excellent win over Amanda Nunes last year. Along with that Peña’s skyrocketed up the pound for pound list, landing at the third spot. Her current 11 MMA record is balanced well with 5 submission wins and 3 VIA TKO/KO. In 2021 ESPN voted her the Female Fighter of the Year. On the 11th of December 2021, Pena would make history at the UFC 269 where she stepped into the Octagon against the greatest female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes. So when Pena turned the tide of the fight in the second round by rocking the champ, Nunes, and proceeding to choke her out. Pena showed her world-class heart and determination as she become the new Bantamweight Queen.
Biography:
Height 5 feet 7 in ( 170 cm )Weight 61 kg ( 134.5 pounds )Eye Color Dark BrownHair Color Dark BrownFigure Measurement 35-25-35
Sponsorships:
Once Julianna Peña achieved her goal of becoming the UFC Champion, a ton of brands want her to become their brand ambassador. The biggest one is Jones Soda Co, which is a Seattle-based beverage company with whom she signed an endorsement deal. Not only Pena get a nice chunk of cash from the brand, but she’ll also get to make her own drink flavors. The sponsors keep rolling for Pena as companies such as Columbia Care, A Cannabis Firm, recently sponsored the UFC Champ as well. She also has done endorsement deals with brands like Asana Health & Wellness, a tech company Fyllo, and a vegan skincare brand N.O.BS. Moreover, a vitamin and supplement brand is known as DESIGNS For Sports.
Ultimate Fighter Show:
Pena made a name for herself on the Ultimate Fighter Show, which featured the likes of Miesha Tate, and Ronda Rousey. Right away Miesha Tate discovered something special in Pena, as she picked her first overall, and Pena would make sure not to disappoint her coach. Pena not only got the opportunity to beat Ronda Rousey’s number pick, Shayna Baszler, but she also faced off with Sarah Moras once again where she secured the second-round submission win. On November 30, 2013, Pena faced Jessica Rakoczy in the Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale and win through TKO in the first round, becoming the first Women’s Ultimate Fighter Champion in history. In 2013 Julianna was featured in the award-winning mixed martial arts documentary titled Fight Life. She also became the announcer for DAZN’s Combate Americas’ English-language broadcast. In 2022, The Ultimate Fighter 30 on ESPN+ reported that Peña and Nunes would be the coaches which would retain women’s flyweight and heavyweight opponents.
Personal Life:
Peña started dating Luis Alejandre who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert. Moreover, Alejandre has worked as facilitated tactical hand-to-hand advice to the American army and police divisions in the previous. Alejandre is the founder of the Chicago-based Stronghold Jiu-jitsu Academy, he is also a head instructor of the firm. In October 2017, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Isabella Alejandre. After Peña became a champion, she credited her daughter for inspiring her and giving her the motivation to keep fighting. Apart from having success in the MMA career, Julianna also found herself getting involved in 2 counts of assault after a fight with the bar staff. As a result, she was arrested in Spokane, Washington in 2015. Later a judge gave a stipulation order of persistence in her charges and said that if Peña had no additional incidents for a year, the matter would be discharged.
Julianna Pena Net Worth:
As of 2023, Julianna Penna’s Net Worth is estimated to be around $2 million. She is one of the rising female fighters in the MMA industry and has established herself as the leading celebrity in the country. A large portion of her income comes from her profession UFC fighting career. The champ is currently living a luxurious lifestyle with her husband and daughter. From the influx of followers to all the companies trying to sponsor her, along with the uptick in pay from the UFC, Pena is earning more money now than she has ever earned in her life. Pena is one of the most prominent female fighters in MMA and the girl has already earned almost $800 thousand from her successful MMA fighting profession. It seems that she is set to appear in more matches against Amanda Nunes. Miesha Tate’s Net Worth
