(The knee can be a cruel mistress. One day you’re provocatively bending it against a pole, without a care in the world. And the next day…betrayal. / Photo via Julianna’s Facebook page)
TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena was scheduled to fight Jessica Andrade at UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler in March — but it looks like the Venezuelan Vixen won’t be fighting anyone for a long, long time. According to a report yesterday evening from MMAFighting.com, Pena suffered a “gruesome injury to her right knee” during a grappling session on Monday, “damaging her ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus.” Yep, I think that covers everything.
Pena is scheduled to undergo surgery next week, and doctors have already assured her that her knee will return to full strength following surgery and rehab. Not that it’s any consolation to UFC president Dana White, who was pissed last night:
For the record, Pena trains at Sik-Jitsu in Spokane, and her actual recovery timetable is unknown. And unless Pena’s team rented her out as a training partner for Rousimar Palhares, we’ll hold off on burying them for now.
Jessica Andrade will remain on the UFC 171 card against TUF 18 semi-finalist Raquel Pennington, who most recently dominated Roxanne Modafferi at the TUF 18 Finale.