Wikipedia

Julia Avila

Julia Avila (born May 11, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[1] Previously she has competed in Invicta FC, HD MMA, XKO MMA, Total Warrior Combat and King of the Cage (KOTC). As of September 10, 2024, she is #12 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.[8]

Julia Avila
Born (1988-05-11) May 11, 1988 (age 36)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Other namesRaging Panda, Julia Shumate
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)
Reach69[1] in (175 cm)
Fighting out ofOklahoma City, Oklahoma
TeamBakersfield MMA (2011–2014)[2][3][4]
All Powers Fitness and Fighting
Junkyard Dogs Fight Team
Oklahoma Martial Arts Academy (2014–2021)[5]
Outsiders Combat Club (2021–present)[6]
RankBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[2] under Seth Norman[7]
Years active2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total12
Wins9
By knockout4
By submission2
By decision3
Losses3
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision1
SpouseR. Cody Shumate
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

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Of Mexican descent, Avila was born (1988-05-11)May 11, 1988 in Los Angeles, California. Julia graduated from South High School, where she was a sports standout and a member of varsity team in volleyball, soccer and track and field.[9][2] She attended The University of Notre Dame, graduated 2010 from University of California, Santa Cruz, and is currently a geologist in Oklahoma City.[10][11] She began training martial arts in 2011 after graduating from college.[2]

Mixed martial arts career

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Avila has notable wins over former UFC flyweight champion Nicco Montaño and Marion Reneau.[12]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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On March 22, 2019, Avila was signed to the UFC's women's bantamweight division. Avila was originally scheduled to face Melissa Gatto on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239. Gatto was dropped from the card due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Pannie Kianzad. Avila won the fight via unanimous decision.[13]

Avila was expected to face Karol Rosa on October 26, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren.[14] The fight was later cancelled due to a knee injury from Rosa.[15] The match was rescheduled to April 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris.[16] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed.[17] The pair was rescheduled to meet on May 2, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174.[18] However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that the event was postponed to June 13, 2020.[19][20] Instead, Avila faced Gina Mazany, replacing Rosa, on June 13, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo.[21] She won the bout via first-round technical knockout just 22 seconds into the fight.[22]

Avila was scheduled to face Nicco Montaño on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 176.[23] However, due to Montano's coach John Wood testing positive for COVID-19, the bout was rescheduled to UFC Fight Night 177.[24] However, Montaño tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana.[25] Subsequently, on September 3, it was announced that Montaño withdrew from the bout due to travel restrictions. After negotiating a new contract with the UFC, Avila faced Sijara Eubanks on September 12, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 177.[26][27] She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[28]

Avila was expected to face Julija Stoliarenko at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20, 2021.[29] However at the weigh ins, Stoliarenko suffered a syncopal episode on the scale and the fight was scrapped.[30] The pair was rescheduled and took place at UFC Fight Night 190.[31] Avila won the fight via rear naked choke submission in round three.[32]

Avila was scheduled to face Raquel Pennington on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 199.[33] However, Avila was forced to pull from the event due to injury.[34] She was replaced by Macy Chiasson.[35]

After a two-years hiatus, Avila returned against former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52.[36] She lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in round three.[37]

Avila is scheduled to face former LFA Women's Bantamweight Champion Jacqueline Cavalcanti on February 15, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 251.[38]

Personal life

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Avila is married. Avila and her husband had their first child, a daughter, October 20, 2022.[39]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
12 matches 9 wins 3 losses
By knockout 4 1
By submission 2 1
By decision 3 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 9–3 Miesha Tate Submission (face crank) UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan December 2, 2023 3 1:15 Austin, Texas, United States
Win 9–2 Julija Stoliarenko Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov June 26, 2021 3 4:19 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 8–2 Sijara Eubanks Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill September 12, 2020 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 8–1 Gina Mazany TKO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo June 13, 2020 1 0:22 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 7–1 Pannie Kianzad Decision (unanimous) UFC 239 July 6, 2019 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–1 Alexa Conners TKO (front kick and punches) Invicta FC 32 November 16, 2018 2 4:43 Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 5–1 Ashley Deen KO (punches) HD MMA 13 August 25, 2018 1 2:08 Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States
Loss 4–1 Marciea Allen TKO (hand injury) Invicta FC 29 May 4, 2018 1 0:49 Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win 4–0 Candace Maricle Submission (armbar) HD MMA 9 July 22, 2017 1 1:18 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Win 3–0 Nicco Montaño Decision (unanimous) HD MMA 7 January 7, 2017 5 5:00 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Won the HD MMA Women's Bantamweight Championship.
Win 2–0 Carolyn Biskup-Roe TKO (punches) XKO 32 August 27, 2016 1 1:28 Dallas, Texas, United States
Win 1–0 Marion Reneau Decision (unanimous) TWC 13: Impact January 27, 2012 3 5:00 Porterville, California, United States Bantamweight debut.

[12][42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Julia Avila". UFC.com. 4 March 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Julia Avila – Invicta Fighting Championships".
  3. ^ Brad Stair (January 28, 2019). "Julia "The Raging Panda" Avila (Episode 56)" (Podcast).
  4. ^ Julia Avila [@ragingpandamma] (July 23, 2014). "Words cannot express how I feel about the Nolan family. I am the fighter an woman that you see today because of these wonderful people taking me under their wing" – via Instagram.
  5. ^ Julia Avila [@RagingPandaMMA] (March 25, 2021). "I'm so angry and lost. I got kicked out of my gym and now I'm just...floating" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Mike Heck (July 5, 2021). Julia Avila Explains How She Founded Her Own Gym In Just Two Weeks - MMA Fighting – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Troy Trilzarian (October 31, 2017). "Episode001_with Julia Avila" (Podcast).
  8. ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  9. ^ Kari Osep (July 16, 2019). "South grad Julia Avila's MMA start in Bakersfield turns into UFC career". KERO-TV.
  10. ^ "Julia Avila". linkedin.com.
  11. ^ Newswire, MMA Fighting (July 7, 2019). "Geologist Julia Avila explains proper steps for earthquake safety after UFC 239 win". MMA Fighting.
  12. ^ a b "Julia Avila ("Raging Panda") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology.
  13. ^ "Julia Avila def. Pannie Kianzad at UFC 239: Best photos". July 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Redactie (2019-09-24). "Julia Avila vs. Karol Rosa added to UFC Singapore event". mmadan.nl. Retrieved 2019-09-24.(in Dutch)
  15. ^ Guilherme Cruz (October 17, 2019). "Karol Rosa still hopes to meet Julia Avila after canceled UFC Singapore fight". mmafighting.com.
  16. ^ Raphael Marinho. "After winning Ultimate debut, Karol Rosa is set to face Julia Avila in April". Globoesporte. Retrieved 2019-12-27.(in Portuguese)
  17. ^ Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-03-15). "UFC postpones three events amid growing coronavirus outbreak". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  18. ^ Redactie (7 April 2020). "Various battles for upcoming events have been announced". mmdana. Retrieved 2020-04-08.(in Dutch)
  19. ^ Brett Okamoto (2020-04-09). "Dana White says UFC 249 will not happen April 18". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  20. ^ "Report: Karol Rosa vs. Julia Avila Rebooked For June 13 UFC Card | Fightful MMA". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  21. ^ Heck, Mike (2020-06-04). "With Karol Rosa out, Julia Avila now faces Gina Mazany at UFC event on June 13". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  22. ^ Evanoff, Josh (2020-06-13). "UFC on ESPN 10 Results: Julia Avila Swarms Gina Mazany". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  23. ^ Dorff, Marcel (2020-06-18). "Nicco Montaño will meet Julia Avila again after three years, this time on August 8 in the UFC" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  24. ^ Heck, Mike (2020-07-11). "Nicco Montano vs. Julia Avila matchup moved to UFC event on Sept. 5 following coach's positive COVID-19 test". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  25. ^ Heck, Mike (2020-08-29). "Nicco Montano tests positive for COVID-19, rematch with Julia Avila moved to Oct. 3 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  26. ^ Mike Heck and Guilherme Cruz (2020-09-03). "With Karol Rosa out, Sijara Eubanks now faces Julia Avila at UFC event on Sept. 12". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  27. ^ Mike Heck (September 12, 2020). "Julia Avila predicts 'there's gonna be blood' vs. Sijara Eubanks at UFC Vegas 10, but 'none of it's gonna be mine'". mmafighting.com.
  28. ^ Evanoff, Josh (2020-09-12). "UFC Vegas 10 Results: Sijara Eubanks Defeats Julia Avila In Wild Fight". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  29. ^ Mike Heck (January 5, 2021). "Julia Avila vs. Julija Stoliarenko set for UFC event on March 20". mmafighting.com.
  30. ^ Mma Fighting newswire (2021-03-19). "Video: Julija Stoliarenko faints on scale at UFC Vegas 22 weigh-ins, bout with Julia Avila cancelled". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  31. ^ Boussenaf, Jamal (2021-06-08). "Julia Avila vs. Julija Stoliarenko verplaatst naar 26 juni". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  32. ^ Behunin, Alex (2021-06-26). "UFC Vegas 30 Results: Julia Avila Submits Julija Stoliarenko In Wild Scrap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  33. ^ Dorff, Marcel (2021-09-29). "Raquel Pennington treft Julia Avila tijdens laatste UFC evenement van 2021 op 18 december". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  34. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2021-12-05). "Julia Avila out of UFC Vegas 45 matchup against Raquel Pennington due to injury". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  35. ^ Marcel Dorff (2021-12-07). "Short notice partij voor Macy Chiasson tegen Raquel Pennington op 18 december in Las Vegas". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-12-07. (in Dutch)
  36. ^ "Former champion Miesha Tate set for UFC return vs. Julia Avila". MMA Junkie. 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  37. ^ "UFC Austin video: Miesha Tate taps out Julia Avila with nasty rear-naked choke following one-sided mauling". MMA Fighting. Dec 2, 2023. Retrieved Dec 3, 2023.
  38. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2024-11-06). "Morning Report: Michael Chandler warned Jon Jones 'I'm coming to steal the show' at UFC 309". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  39. ^ Julia Avila [@RagingPandaMMA] (October 22, 2022). "Baby Eris Luisa. 10/20/22" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. ^ Walker Van Wey (November 21, 2018). "Invicta FC 32 Rewind". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
  41. ^ Mike Heck (July 11, 2020). "Nicco Montano vs. Julia Avila matchup moved to UFC event on Sept. 5 following coach's positive COVID-19 test". mmafighting.com.
  42. ^ "Julia Avila". ESPN.com.
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