Juliana_Velasquez
Juliana Velasquez
Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter
Juliana Velasquez Tonasse (born October 19, 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division of Bellator MMA,[1] where she is the former Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion.
| Juliana Velasquez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Juliana Velasquez Tonasse (1986-10-19) October 19, 1986 (age 37) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] |
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) |
| Division | Flyweight |
| Reach | 67+1⁄2 in (171 cm) |
| Style | Judo |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Team | Team Nogueira |
| Rank | Black belt in Judo |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 15 |
| Wins | 12 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 6 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Juliana Velasquez's father introduced her to the judo mats when she was only four years old. The young carioca entered high-level competition 11 years later, capturing a few medals in the South American judo circuit. After failing to win a spot on the Brazilian Olympic Judo team, at the age of 28, she decided to try her luck in the mixed martial arts world.[2]
In 2013, she gained attention in Brazil for her part played in a polemic story about a fight between herself and male fighter Emerson Falcão, promoted by Shooto Brazil. After receiving a ton of criticism from the combat sports community for the promotion of a fight between a man and a woman, the promotion revealed the real reason for the event was to raise awareness and bring attention to a campaign about violence against women and that the bout wasn't actually going to take place.[3]
Early career
Making her debut in 2014, Velasquez won her amateur debut via second-round submission, later that year, kicking off her professional career with a decision victory in a Rio de Janeiro regional promotion. She won her next 4 fights, collecting a 5–0 record, in the process also winning the 1RC Vacant Bantamweight Championship and defending it once. She was eventually offered a multi fight contract with Bellator MMA.[3]
Bellator MMA
Juliana made her Bellator debut against Na Liang at Bellator 189 on December 1, 2017. She won the fight via second round armbar.[4]
Juliana faced Rebecca Ruth at Bellator 197 on April 13, 2018. She won the fight via front kick to the body in the third round.[5]
In her third fight for the promotion, Velasquez faced Alejandra Lara at Bellator 212 on December 14, 2018. She won the fight via split decision.[6]
Juliana faced Kristina Williams at Bellator 224 on July 12, 2019. She won the fight via TKO in the second round.[7]
Juliana faced Bruna Ellen at Bellator 236 on December 21, 2019. She won the fight via unanimous decision.[8]
Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion
Juliana faced undefeated flyweight champ, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, on December 10, 2020 at Bellator 254.[9] She won the fight and the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship via unanimous decision.[10]
Juliana made her first title defense against Denise Kielholtz on July 16, 2021 at Bellator 262.[11] She won the bout by split decision.[12]
Velasquez attempted to defend her title against Liz Carmouche on April 22, 2022 at Bellator 278.[13] She lost the bout and the title via elbows from crucifix at the end of the fourth round.[14] Following the bout, Velasquez's team appealed the result on the grounds of refereeing error made by Mike Beltran, but the appeal was denied by the Hawaii State Boxing Commission.[15]
In a title rematch, Velasquez faced Liz Carmouche again on December 9, 2022 at Bellator 289.[16] She lost the fight via an armbar submission in the second round.[17]
Velasquez was scheduled to face Paula Cristina on November 17, 2023 at Bellator 301.[18] The week of the event, the bout was scrapped for unknown reasons.[19]
PFL
Velasquez debuted with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) at PFL 1 on April 4, 2024 and lost the bout by unanimous decision to Liz Carmouche in a third consecutive loss against her.[20]
Mixed martial arts
- Bellator MMA
- Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship (One time) [10]
- One successful title defense
- Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship (One time) [10]
- 1º Round Combat
- 1RC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
- One successful title defense
- 1RC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
| 15 matches | 12 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 7 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 12–3 | Liz Carmouche | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 1 (2024) | April 4, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 12–2 | Liz Carmouche | Submission (armbar) | Bellator 289 | December 9, 2022 | 2 | 4:24 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | For the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship. |
| Loss | 12–1 | Liz Carmouche | TKO (elbows) | Bellator 278 | April 22, 2022 | 4 | 4:47 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | Lost the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship. |
| Win | 12–0 | Denise Kielholtz | Decision (split) | Bellator 262 | July 16, 2021 | 5 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Defended the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship. |
| Win | 11–0 | Ilima-Lei Macfarlane | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 254 | December 10, 2020 | 5 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Won the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship. |
| Win | 10–0 | Bruna Ellen | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 236 | December 21, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Kristina Williams | TKO (punches) | Bellator 224 | July 12, 2019 | 2 | 4:03 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Alejandra Lara | Decision (split) | Bellator 212 | December 14, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Rebecca Ruth | KO (body kick) | Bellator 197 | April 13, 2018 | 3 | 0:19 | St. Charles, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Na Liang | Submission (armbar) | Bellator 189 | December 1, 2017 | 2 | 0:32 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | Flyweight debut. |
| Win | 5–0 | Taynna Taygma | Decision (unanimous) | IKombat 1 | November 12, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Guarulhos, Brazil | |
| Win | 4–0 | Elaine Albuquerque | KO (punches) | 1° Round Combat 2 | May 6, 2016 | 1 | 3:55 | Natal, Brazil | Defended 1RC Vacant Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–0 | Rosy Duarte | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 1° Round Combat | December 6, 2015 | 5 | 4:07 | Fortaleza, Brazil | Won the inaugural 1RC Vacant Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 2–0 | Talita Bernardo | Decision (unanimous) | Face to Face 11 | April 24, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 1–0 | Priscila de Souza | Decision (unanimous) | Team Nogueira MMA Fight Live 4 | December 4, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Bantamweight debut. |
| Amateur record breakdown | ||
| 1 match | 1 win | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Lucelia Souza | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Talent Draft 1: São Paulo | March 7, 2014 | 2 | 1:57 | São Paulo, Brazil |
- "Juliana Velasquez". Bellator. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
- Guilherme Cruz (Dec 14, 2018). "Unbeaten judoka Juliana Velasquez sees Bellator belt as an Olympic medal in MMA". www.mmafighting.com/.
- Bruno Massami (March 24, 2017). "Undefeated Brazilian prospect Juliana Velasquez signs multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA". mmaplus.co.uk.
- Steve Juon (December 1, 2017). "Bellator 189 results: Live 'Budd vs Blencowe 2' streaming play-by-play updates TONIGHT on Spike". mmamania.com.
- Steve Juon (April 13, 2018). "Bellator 197 results: Live 'Chandler vs Girtz' streaming play-by-play updates". mmamania.com.
- "Bellator 212 results: Primus vs Chandler 2". mmafighting.com. December 15, 2018.
- Steve Juon (July 12, 2019). "Bellator 224 results, streaming play-by-play updates". mmamania.com.
- Steve Juon (December 22, 2019). "Bellator 236 results: Live streaming play-by-play updates for 'Macfarlane vs Jackson'". mmamania.com.
- MMA Junkie Staff (October 28, 2020). "Ilima-Lei Macfarlane puts title on line vs. Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 254 in December". MMA Junkie. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- Steven Marrocco (December 10, 2020). "Bellator 254 results: Juliana Velasquez takes flyweight title from Ilima-Lei Macfarlane". mmafighting.com.
- "Velasquez to defend Bellator title vs. Kielholtz". ESPN.com. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
- Anderson, Jay (2021-07-16). "Bellator 262 Results: Juliana Velasquez Retains in Razor-Thin Split Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
- "Bellator 278 headliner set with Juliana Velasquez defending against Liz Carmouche". MMA Junkie. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
- Anderson, Jay (2022-04-23). "Bellator 278: Liz Carmouche Claims Gold with Fourth-Round TKO of Juliana Velasquez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- Guilherme Cruz (July 5, 2022). "Juliana Velasquez appeal of Bellator 278 title loss to Liz Carmouche denied by Hawaii commission". mmafighting.com.
- Cruz, Guilherme (2022-09-14). "Flyweight champion Liz Carmouche, Juliana Velasquez set to rematch at Bellator 289". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- Anderson, Jay (2022-12-09). "Bellator 289: Liz Carmouche Subs Juliana Velasquez, Eliminates Any Doubt as to Legitimacy of Title Reign". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
- "Ex-champ Juliana Velasquez, Keri Melendez among new additions to Bellator 301 in Chicago". MMA Junkie. 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- Guillen, Adam (2023-11-13). "Bellator 301 loses not one, but two fights on the same day". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- Anderson, Jay (2024-04-05). "Liz Carmouche Takes Juliana Velasquez to Clear Decision Win in Trilogy Bout at PFL 1". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- Sherdog.com. "Juliana Velasquez". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-08-07.