Juliana Velasquez Explained

Juliana Velasquez
Birth Name:Juliana Velasquez Tonasse
Birth Date:19 October 1986
Birth Place:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height:[1]
Weight:125lb
Reach:67+1/2 in
Style:Judo
Stance:Southpaw
Fighting Out Of:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Team:Team Nogueira
Rank:Black belt in Judo
Years Active:2014–present
Mma Kowin:5
Mma Subwin:2
Mma Decwin:6
Mma Koloss:1
Mma Subloss:1
Mma Decloss:1
Sherdog:153657

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.

Background

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]

Mixed martial arts career

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]

Velasquez faced Lisa Mauldin at PFL 4 on June 13, 2024. She won the fight via TKO in the second round.[21]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

|-|Win|align=center|13–3|Lisa Mauldin|TKO (punches)|PFL 4 (2024)||align=center|2|align=center|1:30|Uncasville, Connecticut, United States||-|Loss|align=center|12–3|Liz Carmouche|Decision (unanimous)|PFL 1 (2024)||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|San Antonio, Texas, United States||-|Loss|align=center|12–2|Liz Carmouche|Submission (armbar)|Bellator 289||align=center|2|align=center|4:24|Uncasville, Connecticut, United States||-|Loss|align=center|12–1|Liz Carmouche|TKO (elbows)|Bellator 278||align=center|4|align=center|4:47|Honolulu, Hawaii, United States||-|Win|align=center|12–0|Denise Kielholtz|Decision (split)|Bellator 262||align=center|5|align=center|5:00|Uncasville, Connecticut, United States||-|Win|align=center|11–0|Ilima-Lei Macfarlane|Decision (unanimous)|Bellator 254||align=center|5|align=center|5:00|Uncasville, Connecticut, United States||-|Win |align=center| 10–0|Bruna Ellen|Decision (unanimous)|Bellator 236||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Honolulu, Hawaii, United States||-| Win|align=center| 9–0|Kristina Williams| TKO (punches)|Bellator 224||align=center|2|align=center|4:03|Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States||-| Win| align=center| 8–0| Alejandra Lara|Decision (split)|Bellator 212||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Honolulu, Hawaii, United States ||-| Win| align=center| 7–0| Rebecca Ruth| KO (body kick)|Bellator 197||align=center|3|align=center|0:19|St. Charles, Missouri, United States||-| Win| align=center| 6–0| Na Liang| Submission (armbar) | Bellator 189| | align=center| 2| align=center| 0:32| Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States||-| Win| align=center| 5–0| Taynna Taygma| Decision (unanimous)| IKombat 1| | align=center|3| align=center|5:00| Guarulhos, Brazil||-| Win| align=center| 4–0| Elaine Albuquerque| KO (punches)| 1° Round Combat 2| | align=center| 1| align=center| 3:55| Natal, Brazil||-| Win| align=center| 3–0| Rosy Duarte| TKO (doctor stoppage)|1° Round Combat| | align=center| 5| align=center| 4:07| Fortaleza, Brazil||-| Win| align=center| 2–0|Talita Bernardo|Decision (unanimous)|Face to Face 11||align=center| 3|align=center| 5:00|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-| Win| align=center| 1–0| Priscila de Souza| Decision (unanimous)| Team Nogueira MMA Fight Live 4| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-[22]

|-|Win|align=center|1–0|Lucelia Souza|Submission (rear-naked choke)|Talent Draft 1: São Paulo||align=center|2|align=center|1:57|São Paulo, Brazil||-

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Juliana Velasquez . Bellator . 2020-12-11 . 2020-12-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202144656/http://www.bellator.com/fighters/2lchdy/juliana-velasquez . dead .
  2. Web site: Unbeaten judoka Juliana Velasquez sees Bellator belt as an Olympic medal in MMA . www.mmafighting.com/ . Guilherme Cruz . Dec 14, 2018.
  3. Web site: Undefeated Brazilian prospect Juliana Velasquez signs multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA . Bruno Massami . March 24, 2017 . mmaplus.co.uk.
  4. Web site: Bellator 189 results: Live 'Budd vs Blencowe 2' streaming play-by-play updates TONIGHT on Spike . mmamania.com . Steve Juon . December 1, 2017.
  5. Web site: Bellator 197 results: Live 'Chandler vs Girtz' streaming play-by-play updates . mmamania.com . Steve Juon . April 13, 2018.
  6. Web site: Bellator 212 results: Primus vs Chandler 2 . mmafighting.com . December 15, 2018.
  7. Web site: Bellator 224 results, streaming play-by-play updates . mmamania.com . Steve Juon . July 12, 2019.
  8. Web site: Bellator 236 results: Live streaming play-by-play updates for 'Macfarlane vs Jackson' . mmamania.com . Steve Juon . December 22, 2019.
  9. Web site: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane puts title on line vs. Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 254 in December . MMA Junkie . MMA Junkie Staff . October 28, 2020 . October 28, 2020 . November 4, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201104051335/https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/10/ilima-lei-macfarlane-vs-juliana-velasquez-bellator-254-title-fight-women-mma/amp . dead .
  10. Web site: Bellator 254 results: Juliana Velasquez takes flyweight title from Ilima-Lei Macfarlane . mmafighting.com . Steven Marrocco . December 10, 2020.
  11. Web site: 2021-05-21 . Velasquez to defend Bellator title vs. Kielholtz . 2021-05-21 . ESPN.com . en.
  12. Web site: Anderson . Jay . 2021-07-16 . Bellator 262 Results: Juliana Velasquez Retains in Razor-Thin Split Decision . 2021-07-17 . Cageside Press . en-US.
  13. Web site: 2022-03-22 . Bellator 278 headliner set with Juliana Velasquez defending against Liz Carmouche . 2022-03-22 . MMA Junkie . en-US.
  14. Web site: Anderson . Jay . 2022-04-23 . Bellator 278: Liz Carmouche Claims Gold with Fourth-Round TKO of Juliana Velasquez . 2022-04-23 . Cageside Press . en-US.
  15. Web site: Juliana Velasquez appeal of Bellator 278 title loss to Liz Carmouche denied by Hawaii commission. July 5, 2022. mmafighting.com. Guilherme Cruz.
  16. Web site: Cruz . Guilherme . 2022-09-14 . Flyweight champion Liz Carmouche, Juliana Velasquez set to rematch at Bellator 289 . 2022-09-14 . MMA Fighting . en.
  17. Web site: Anderson . Jay . 2022-12-09 . Bellator 289: Liz Carmouche Subs Juliana Velasquez, Eliminates Any Doubt as to Legitimacy of Title Reign . 2022-12-10 . Cageside Press . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2023-09-18 . Ex-champ Juliana Velasquez, Keri Melendez among new additions to Bellator 301 in Chicago . 2023-09-18 . MMA Junkie . en-US.
  19. Web site: Guillen . Adam . 2023-11-13 . Bellator 301 loses not one, but two fights on the same day . 2023-11-14 . MMAmania.com . en.
  20. Web site: Anderson . Jay . 2024-04-05 . Liz Carmouche Takes Juliana Velasquez to Clear Decision Win in Trilogy Bout at PFL 1 . 2024-04-05 . Cageside Press . en-US.
  21. Web site: Juliana Velasquez scores second-round finish to keep pursuit of playoffs alive . 2024-08-04 . pflmma.com.
  22. Web site: Sherdog.com . Juliana Velasquez . 2020-08-07 . Sherdog.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Juliana Velasquez".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.