MMA ODDS AND ENDS FOR THURSDAY: JULIANNA PENA OUT FOR TWO YEARS FOLLOWING CATASTROPHIC KNEE INJURY

Among the UFC’s brightest young stars is hurt, and according to the company president she is likely to be out of commission for two decades. It was revealed by UFC Tonight that TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena suffered a catastrophic injury to her right knee during training that resulted in tears for her ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus, and hamstring. MMAFighting.com reported the injury happened during a grappling session on Monday in Sikjitsu gym in Spokane, Washington. According to UFC president Dana White, the injury is so severe that the 24-year-old Pena is expected to miss a couple of decades of action. She is set to have surgery on the knee following week once the swelling goes down. This is very sad news and everybody in the MMA world should want Pena a quick recovery because she embarks on what will be a dark period in her life as she won’t have the ability to compete in the game she loves just at the time she had been starting to get really good at it. According to her official biography on UFC.com, Pena said,”When I found MMA I understood it was the outlet I needed and was looking for.” About battling in the Octagon, Pena stated:”It means the world for me to be more fighting in the UFC. This is as large as it’s, it doesn’t get any higher, and I’ve made it. It is a fantastic achievement for myself.” But for the next time, she won’t have MMA in her entire life. Nicknamed”The Venezuelan Vixen,” Pena entered TUF 18 with a 4-2 record and has been matched up against veteran Shayna Baszler in the preliminary round after defeating Gina Mazany to go into the home. Despite being a massive underdog to Baszler, Pena managed to rally after being early to defeat Baszer via second-round entry. She then submitted Sara Moras from the semifinals to earn a birth in the finale, and she won the show last November with a dominating first-round TKO win over Jessica Rakoczy. Currently ranked in the top 10 of the women’s bantamweight division, Pena had been set to confront Jessica Andrade in UFC 171 this March before being forced to pull out with this knee injury. Andrade will face Raquel Pennington. UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani was able to speak to Pena’s trainer at Sikjitsu, Rick Little, who said the injury Pena endured was the”most grisly” he had ever seen in sports. According to Little, Pena’s harm was the result of an over-aggressive training session, which seems odd given the severity of this injury. According to White’s tweet that”what happened at her gym is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever noticed,” there is obviously more to the story. There is already speculation that this was not just an crash, but that somebody in Pena’s camp held to a entry overly long, possibly a heel hook which is highly frowned upon to perform while training with teammates. That is only speculation for now, however, although I really don’t by for a moment that this harm was just an accident based on which White’s tweet. It was considerably more inclined carelessness was the trigger. This is extremely disappointing news as I believe Pena was a upcoming title contender in the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Pena’s wrestling is excellent and she is improving her entire game so rapidly that she’d be a serious contender for the UFC bantamweight name within the next couple of decades. Keep in mind her beef with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey from the series meant she would have been pushed up the ladder quicker than others. However, this injury will clearly delay that chance to fight for the belt, and it is possible that the injury renders that dream impossible. For somebody who’s only 24, it’s really not fair that Pena has needed to cope with so many injuries and bad luck as such a young age. Before TUF 18 was first filmed, Pena was involved in a nasty car accident which left her with a broken nose. She had suffered a broken arm one of her fights, as well as the preceding two ACL tears before in her career. But that’s life, and life isn’t fair. Pena was working as a waitress before TUF and living in the home with her family. With her career just about to remove, Pena was looking forward to moving out and embarking on a promising career in the game. Now, she’ll be outside sitting on the sidelines for up to another 24 month after suffering among the worst knee injuries ever to a UFC fighter, and she will have trouble making a living while doing so. I am hoping that the UFC helps out Pena financially through her off time since, after all, she is an investment for the company. The UFC does have an insurance policy that should cover part of Pena’s surgery, but it is capped at $50,000 yearly and might not cover all Pena’s medical-related costs. So the UFC can do the right thing and help her out in her time of need. We get the full story about what happened to Pena shortly, but for now let us all wish Pena great luck on her surgery next week and let’s hope she can conquer the projected two year layoff and return into the crate sooner than later because she is a tremendous fighter and has a bright future in the sport.

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