One of the UFC’s brightest young stars is hurt, and according to the company president she is going to be out of commission for a couple of years. It was yesterday revealed by UFC Tonight that TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena endured a catastrophic injury to her right knee during training that resulted in tears for her ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus, and hamstring. MMAFighting.com reported that the injury happened during a grappling session Monday in Sikjitsu fitness center in Spokane, Washington. In accordance with UFC president Dana White, the injury is so severe that the 24-year-old Pena is expected to miss two years of action. She is set to get surgery on the knee next week once the swelling goes down. This is very sad news and everyone in the MMA world ought to wish Pena a quick recovery as she embarks on what is going to be a dark period in her life as she won’t have the ability to compete in the sport she loves just at the time she had been beginning to get great at it. According to her official biography on UFC.com, Pena said,”When I found MMA I realized it was the socket I needed and was looking for.” About battling in the Octagon, Pena said:”It means the world to me to be more fighting in the UFC. This is as large as it gets, it will not get any higher, and I’ve made it. It is a great achievement for myself.” But for the next little while, she will not 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 house. Despite being a massive underdog into Baszler, Pena managed to rally after being early to defeat Baszer via second-round submission. She then submitted Sara Moras from the semifinals to earn a birth in the finale, and she won the series 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 was set to face Jessica Andrade in UFC 171 this March prior to being forced to pull out with this knee injury. Andrade will now face Raquel Pennington. UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani was able to talk to Pena’s coach at Sikjitsu, Rick Little, who said the injury Pena suffered was the”most gruesome” he had ever seen in sports. According to Little, Pena’s harm was the result of an over-aggressive training session, which seems strange given the severity of the accident. Based on White’s tweet that”what happened at her gym is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard,” there’s obviously much more to the story. There is already speculation that this was not only an crash, but that somebody at Pena’s camp held to some entry too long, maybe a heel hook that’s highly frowned upon to perform while training with teammates. That’s just speculation for now, however, although I don’t by for a minute that this harm was just an accident based on which White’s tweet. It was considerably more inclined carelessness was the cause. This is extremely disappointing news as I think Pena was a future title contender in the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Pena’s wrestling is excellent and she is improving her overall game so quickly that she would be a serious competitor for the UFC bantamweight title within the next two decades. Remember her beef with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey from the series meant she would have been pushed up the ladder quicker than many others. However, this harm will obviously delay that opportunity to fight for the belt, and it is possible that the injury renders that dream impossible. For someone who is only 24, it’s not fair that Pena has needed to deal with so many injuries and bad luck as such a young age. Before TUF 18 was first filmed, Pena had been involved in a nasty car accident which left her with a busted nose. She had also suffered a broken arm one of her struggles, in addition to the preceding two ACL tears before in her career. But that’s life, and life is not fair. Pena was working as a waitress before TUF and living at home with her loved ones. With her career just about to take off, Pena was anticipating moving out and embarking on a promising career in the game. Now, she will be out sitting on the sidelines for up to another 24 month after suffering one of the worst knee injuries ever to a UFC fighter, and she will have difficulty making a living while doing so. I am hoping the UFC assists out Pena financially during her off time because, after all, she’s an investment for the company. The UFC does have an insurance plan that should cover part of Pena’s surgery, but it is capped at $50,000 annually and may not cover most Pena’s medical-related expenses. So hopefully the UFC can do the perfect thing and help her out in her time of need. Hopefully we get the full story about what happened to Pena soon, but for today let us all wish Pena good luck on her operation next week and let’s hope she is able to beat the projected two year layoff and return into the cage earlier than later because she is a huge fighter and has a bright future in the game.

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