Spokane, Washington native Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña kept her unbeaten record intact tonight in front of a partisan hometown crowd. Peña submitted Canadian Rachael Swatez with a second-round guillotine choke at Conquest of the Cage in the nearby suburb of Airway Heights.

The road back to the cage was not an easy one for Peña, who endured a pair of serious knee injuries that kept her out of action for two full years. The 22-year-old has now won all three of her pro fights by stoppage and became the first woman to finish Swatez in seven career bouts with tonight’s win.

Peña (3-0-0) debuted as a pro in 2009 with a pair of impressive victories, but after a planned Strikeforce bout with fellow prospect Kerry Vera was scrapped in 2010, Peña was forced to the sidelines with a torn ACL and meniscus. After reinjuring her knee, Peña returned to full training this summer in preparation for her return bout with Swatez (4-3-0), whose prior defeats had come via competitive decisions.

Despite the lengthy layoff, Peña managed to submit her Canadian foe with a guillotine choke in the second round. Tonight’s bout served as Peña’s first in her new home at 125 pounds; a division that has become very competitive over the course of the past year. Swatez, who had won four of her past five, was stopped for the first time in her career.

Winner: Julianna Peña by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:17 of round two. She improves to 3-0-0.

(Photo Credit: Fightergirls.com)