Since her UFC debut in 2013, Julianna Peña has suffered four losses, three by submission, with the most recent coming at the hands of Kayla Harrison, who stopped her in the second round on June 7, 2025. Yet, despite that record and a 17-month absence following her title loss to Harrison, Peña is preparing to put her grappling skills to the test once again as she returns to competition outside the Octagon.

“Former two-time UFC champion Julianna Peña is getting back to competition, but it will be on the wrestling mats,” MMA Fighting reported.

“Real American Freestyle announced Monday that Peña is set to make her promotional debut at RAF Abu Dhabi, which takes place Nov. 14 at Etihad Arena. Peña faces Diana Avsaragova in a middleweight matchup.”

The announcement comes amid continued uncertainty surrounding Peña’s return to MMA following her loss of the bantamweight championship to Harrison. Speaking to the media, Peña revealed that she had been dealing with injuries even before facing Harrison.

She broke her thumb in May, 2025, and tore an elbow ligament, with bone fragments also reported. Her condition worsened after the title fight, and Peña subsequently underwent elbow and back surgeries. Although she initially expected recovery to take around six months, her MMA return remained uncertain.

“I’ve been going through it, dude,” Peña said on The Ariel Helwani Show in September last year. “Having back surgery and having all these other surgeries that I’ve been having lately is not fun. The only thing that I’m clinging to is that if somebody’s going to do it, it’s going to be me. It has to be me.

“Because I have gotten run over by a car walking on the sidewalk and had my nose smashed in—I was able to come back from that. I was able to fight a dude in the alley and get my eye swollen shut for three days and 11 stitches and come back from that. I was able to tear out both of my knees, dislocate both of my elbows, and have multiple surgeries—still some I never disclosed with the public—and I was able to come back from that and get my hand raised inside that octagon…”

Although Peña stepped away from fighting, she remained involved in the sport.

The former champion took on a new role as a commentator, making her debut at RAF 02 on October 25, 2025, at the Bryce Jordan Center in Pennsylvania.

Peña has endured several extended breaks through her MMA career, largely due to injuries and personal milestones, including motherhood. In 2014, she suffered multiple ligament and meniscus tears in her right knee, keeping her sidelined until April 2015.

She later stepped away during pregnancy and early motherhood before returning to competition in 2019. After losing to Amanda Nunes in July 2022, Peña’s return was delayed when fractured ribs forced her to withdraw from their planned rematch. Nunes subsequently retired.

Peña eventually returned to the Octagon in October 2024 to face Raquel Pennington.

Beyond Julianna Peña: When UFC fighters traded the octagon for the wrestling mat

Peña is now set to venture into wrestling competition for the first time, joining a growing list of UFC fighters who have tested their skills on the RAF mats while continuing their MMA careers.

The wrestling promotion has featured high-profile fighters, including former champions Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad. Top lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, who recently drew attention for his knockout win over Maurício Ruffy at UFC 331, has also been a regular at RAF since January this year.

At RAF 11, Tsarukyan suffered his first freestyle wrestling defeat to former UFC fighter Colby Covington, who left the UFC in May this year and remains unbeaten at RAF.

Beyond freestyle wrestling, Jon Jones, Glover Teixeira, and Gilbert Burns are also known to have participated in Submission Underground, a promotion hosted by former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen.

However, these examples do not establish that all UFC fighters are automatically allowed to compete outside the promotion.

Contract terms and permissions can vary, so Peña’s participation in the upcoming RAF event should not be assumed to be contractually cleared without confirmation of her specific arrangements.