CHICAGO – Chicagoans may not know it, but there’s a UFC champion living in their backyard
Julianna Peña calls the Windy City home these days. In case you haven’t heard of her, Peña stunned the ultimate fighting world last month when she choked out Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight title.
“She definitely didn’t underestimate me. She got exposed.”
Peña’s journey to the top started when she was just a child.
“I’m the baby of four kids. My brothers and sisters – they kicked my butt pretty good.
“My brother used to fill these long tube socks. He would pack more tube socks at the bottom of the tube sock. He would have this ball of socks at the end and swing it around and knock us out with these. So, if you can take some shots with sock bombs then you can take a punch.
“I definitely think that rough-housing at an early age is what sparked that aggressive nature in me. I didn’t really know where to channel that until I found mixed martial arts.”
But it’s her fighting nature to never give up that made her a champion, pushing through what obstacle after obstacle.
“I’ve torn many ligaments. I’ve dislocated many joints. I’ve had to come back from injuries that were virtually impossible to come back from – having a C-section and getting your guts ripped out.”
Her toughness makes the 32-year-old Spokane native a perfect fit in Chicago.
“When you’re a big fish in a small pond everything is great, but you have to evolve as a fighter. You have to branch out and add more techniques into your game and evolve. Because if you don’t evolve, this game is going to pass you up. Just the different training styles that I got around here in the greater Chicagoland area definitely added to my game. I think that has also added to the success that I’ve had as a fighter.”
Peña moved here five years ago when the UFC brought her in for Latino Heritage Month. After one whiff of the chocolate scented air in River North, Peña knew she was home.
“The food is a problem here,” Peña laughed. “I love the food in Chicago. I’m a big foodie. I enjoy cooking. I enjoy lots of food and music – the culture here. I’m very into music. I love to dance. Back in Spokane, I was the minority, but when I came to Chicago I was like ‘my people!'”
Peña says her phone has been a lot busier since winning the title, but she’s focused on her craft and finding the balance between being a professional athlete and a mom.
“The reality is I have to come back to my house. I have to sweep and mop my own floors. I have to do my own laundry. I have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning and take my kid to school every day.
“Anybody can relate to the fact that you just have to find a way to make things happen. Whether it’s asking a grandmother or friend to watch your kid, or whether she tags along with you – which is what she does for the majority of my training sessions – you just find a way to make it work.”
A rematch between Peña and Nunes has yet to be scheduled, but when it’s all said and done, UFC President Dana white believes it will be the biggest women’s fight of all time.