In the Women’s TUF 18 final, heavy favorite Julianna Pena takes on the Canadian Jessica Rakoczy. Pena simply annihilated her competition en route to qualifying for the TUF crown. She was Miesha Tate’s first pick and lived up to the hype. Rokoczy, on the other hand, was able to pull out solid victories to grind her way to the final. She’s a very good boxer and has developed her MMA skills throughout her time in the house. Both fighters displayed tremendous skill on the show and the final promised to be a great bout.
Julianna Pena becomes first Women’s Bantamweight TUF Champion with First Round Victory
In the first round, Pena was able to score a takedown within the first minute. Rakoczy did recover well and showed tremendous defense while in the clinch, but was taken down for a second time soon after. Pena was trying to work the ground-and-pound but Rakoczy showed good guard defense. Pena soon transitioned to the mount and was able to work a solid ground and pound. While Rakoczy demonstrated tremendous heart and defended well, Pena’s ferocity was just too overpowering.
As the round was about to end, referee Mario Yamasaki called a stop to the bout, crowning Julianna Pena the first Women’s bantamweight TUF champion.
