Julianna Peña Record: 12-6-0

The Ultimate Fighter and UFC arrival

Peña won the women's bracket of The Ultimate Fighter Season 18, beating Gina Mazany, Shayna Baszler and Sarah Moras in the house competition before capping the run with a first-round TKO of Jessica Rakoczy at the TUF 18 Finale in November 2013 to claim the tournament title. She validated the win in the Octagon, stopping Milana Dudieva in 2015, outpointing Jessica Eye later that year, and defeating Cat Zingano by decision at UFC 200 in 2016. A 2017 armbar loss to Valentina Shevchenko and a 2020 guillotine loss to Germaine de Randamie bracketed the long climb back toward a title shot.

Championship reigns

Peña re-established herself with a third-round rear-naked choke of Sara McMann in January 2021, then authored one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. At UFC 269 in December 2021 she submitted the long-dominant Amanda Nunes by second-round rear-naked choke to win the UFC women's bantamweight title. She lost the belt back to Nunes by unanimous decision in their UFC 277 rematch in July 2022, but reclaimed gold in October 2024, edging Raquel Pennington by split decision over five rounds at UFC 307 to become a two-time champion. Her second reign ended in June 2025 when Kayla Harrison submitted her with a kimura in the second round at UFC 316.

Fighting style

Peña is a pressure fighter whose game is built on jiu-jitsu and sheer tenacity. Five of her 12 wins come by submission and three by knockout, a 67% finish rate that reflects how often she ends fights once she imposes her pace. She marches forward, weathers damage and looks to drag opponents into deep water where her grappling and conditioning take over – the blueprint that drowned Nunes at UFC 269. The same all-action style has left her vulnerable to elite submission specialists, as the losses to Shevchenko, de Randamie and Harrison show, but few fighters have matched her ability to win the moments that matter most.

Career highlights

• Upset of the era — submitted Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 to win the women's bantamweight title in one of the sport's most shocking results.
• Two-time UFC champion — reclaimed the bantamweight belt by edging Raquel Pennington at UFC 307, becoming a two-time titleholder.
• The Ultimate Fighter winner — won the TUF Season 18 tournament with a finale stoppage of Jessica Rakoczy, launching her UFC career.