LAS VEGAS: When Dana White strapped the bantamweight belt around Julianna Pea’s waist after one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, the promotion’s president immediately thought back to the first time he met her about eight years ago.
The way White remembers it, Pea found him at his sons’ jiu-jitsu tournament. She charged up to the executive, stuck out her hand and said: I’m going to fight for you someday, and I’m going to be a world champion.’”
Pea’s journey from that cheeky introduction to this triumphant moment led her down a path she never could have anticipated, including detours for major reconstructive knee surgery in 2014 and the birth of her daughter in 2018. She pursued her dream relentlessly against those life obstacles and despite two recent losses, culminating in a showdown Saturday night with the most accomplished champion in women’s mixed martial arts history.
When Pea emerged from UFC 269 as the first new bantamweight champion since 2016, nobody in the sport appeared to be less shocked than the 10-to-1 underdog herself.
Im not surprised, Pea said. I know that I have a big, huge will and determination. You can do anything you want in this life. Ive been through the wash. I have done it all. Ive torn everything you could possibly think of. Ran over by cars, hit by dudes in the alleys. Ive done it all. Nothing was going to stop me from getting this belt. This has been 13 years grinding, and its finally come to fruition. Its my time.
Pea’s time as the UFC’s new 135-pound champ began with a career-defining victory over an opponent who hadn’t lost since 2014.
Although she took plenty of damage from Nunes’ punches and barely escaped the first round without losing by submission, Pea displayed shockingly effective striking that was too much for Nunes, the best striker in the women’s sport. Nunes got hurt and tired in the second round before failing to escape the rear naked choke that ended her reign.
Nunes had beaten up almost everyone she had faced for the past seven years, including famously merciless knockouts of Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg Justino. Pea took Nunes’ big shots and stayed upright and Nunes didn’t have the energy or the fortitude to come up with another plan.
It doesnt matter how strong you are, how big you are, how hard you hit, White said. At the end of the day, in a five-round fight, it comes down to whos in better shape.
Peas memory of her first meeting with White is somewhat different: She says she tracked him down at a Las Vegas gym shortly after the UFC got into women’s MMA and made plans for women to appear on The Ultimate Fighter, the promotions long-running reality show. She found White in the back of the Syndicate MMA gym and said: My name is Julianna Pea and Im going to win The Ultimate Fighter.
Pea did exactly that in November 2013, but she wrecked her right knee in training a few months later and couldn’t fight again until 2015. She first challenged Nunes after winning at UFC 200 in 2016, but Pea felt Nunes never took her seriously as a title challenger, and the perceived disrespect fueled her training.
Nunes is still the UFCs 145-pound featherweight champion, but White and Pea both said she can have a bantamweight rematch next if she wants it. Peas confidence will only grow, and even White wonders whether the 33-year-old Nunes best days are suddenly, shockingly done.
Shes been on top forever, White said. She has a lot of money, and she has a baby now, a family. These things change you.
Pea plans to celebrate her title over the holidays with her daughter, but the experience is still so new to her that she’s got to learn how to to do it properly. When she first won the fight, she didn’t realize why it had been stopped because she didn’t feel Nunes’ tap and after she finally realized she was a world champion, she climbed onto the cage to unleash a primal scream fueled by just a smidgen of fright.
Ive been doing this for 13 years, and Ive never jumped on the cage before, she said. They told me, This is the time to get on the cage. When I got up there, I was like, Oh, this is kind of scary.
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