Julianna Peña’s Brutal Lesson
Julianna Peña, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, has never been one to back down from a fight. But long before she made history in the Octagon, she learned a painful lesson about the stark differences between men and women in combat—one that left her with a swollen eye, stitches, and an unfortunate reality check.
Speaking on the OverDogs Podcast, Peña shared a wild story from over a decade ago when she worked as a food delivery expediter while also being an up-and-coming professional fighter with a 3-0 record in the UFC. A tense workplace rivalry with a male coworker, a line cook, escalated into a full-blown street fight in a back alley.
Photo by Carmen Mandato
Dropped Three Times
Peña described the brutal exchange in detail:
“Went into the back alley while I was serving and I fought the line cook because we had, you know, been really going at each other for a long time, a long story. Yeah, he dropped me three times and I have to say, and this is no ego, I popped right back up after every single time I got dropped. I got dropped, I popped right back up, I went at him again, he dropped me again, and I had my eyes swollen shut for three days and 11 stitches in my eye because I thought that I could fight a man.”
Peña’s takeaway from the fight was clear—she realized firsthand that, despite being a high-level female fighter, the physical differences between men and women are undeniable.
“I don’t have any ego to be like, I could beat a man. Like, I’ve learned my lesson. I don’t want anything to do with fighting dudes for real.”
While Peña walked away with injuries and a newfound perspective, her workplace had a different response. Despite both parties engaging in the fight, she was fired while her coworker kept his job.
According to Peña, her status as a professional fighter likely played a role in the decision. While it’s unclear if the workplace saw her as the instigator or simply wanted to avoid liability, the situation highlights how professional fighters can be held to a different standard in altercations outside of sanctioned competition.
Photo by Getty Images
Julianna Peña’s story is a rare instance of a female professional fighter openly acknowledging the physical gap between men and women in combat. In an era where gender dynamics in sports and physical competition are frequently debated, Peña’s firsthand experience is a sobering reminder that biology plays an undeniable role.
For Peña, the lesson was painful—both physically and professionally. But if there’s one thing she’s always been known for, it’s resilience. That night in the alley, she may have lost a street fight, but she went on to become a UFC world champion.
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