TUF 18 winner Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña has suffered a serious knee injury and has been forced to withdraw from her bout against Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade at UFC 171: “Hendricks vs Lawler” on March 15th in Dallas, Texas. MMAjunkie.com first reported on Peña’s injury today.
Peña has already sustained two torn ACLs that kept her out of action for more than two full years. She returned to MMA in late 2011 and has since gone 2-2 including a brief stint in the flyweight division. Peña became the first female winner of The Ultimate Fighter competition this past November.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to United Center in Chicago, Illinois tonight for UFC on FOX 10: “Henderson vs Thomson.” The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between former UFC champion “Smooth” Benson Henderson and ex-Strikeforce champ Josh “The Punk” Thomson.
Standout striker Justine Kish improved her MMA record to a perfect 4-0 with an impressive victory tonight at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 12: “Ortega vs Koch” in Los Angeles, California. Kish defeated the previously unbeaten Randa Markos Thomas by Unanimous Decision in an action-packed fight.
Top-ranked strawweight Jessica “Jag” Aguilar captured her first major MMA title in her World Series of Fighting debut tonight at WSOF 8: “Gaethje vs Patishnock” in Hollywood, Florida. Aguilar submitted Alida Gray with an arm-triangle choke to become WSOF Women’s Strawweight Champion.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia tonight for UFC Fight Night 35: “Rockhold vs Philippou.” The event was headlined by a middleweight showdown between former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold and fast-rising contender Costas Philippou.
Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate looks for her first Octagon victory when she faces off against Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche at UFC on FOX 11 on April 19th in Orlando, Florida. UFC officials announced plans for the featured matchup earlier this evening.
Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez lived up to her nickname with a quick victory tonight at Dakota Fighting Championship 17: “Winter Brawl 2014” in Fargo, North Dakota. Alvarez choked out strawweight prospect Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger in round one of the co-main event on the card.
Voting for the 2013 Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Awards concluded earlier this month and winners have now been crowned in more than a dozen categories. This year, reigning Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak has been named Female Fighter of the Year.