Julia Avila underwent a staggering 12-month body transformation to prepare for her Octagon return later tonight (Sat., Dec. 2, 2023) at UFC Austin live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside Moody Center in Austin, Tex., when “Raging Panda” takes on former UFC champion Miesha Tate in the “Prelims” headliner.
It was not an easy journey back for Avila, who has dropped nearly 100 pounds over the past year. The women’s bantamweight contender shockingly ballooned up to 225 pounds after undergoing knee surgery and giving birth to her first child around the same time. Many female fighters are mothers, but few are making the type of turnaround that Avila is.
On Friday, Avila shared some photos via Instagram that show off her incredible body transformation from 225 pounds all the way down to 135 pounds for UFC Austin’s official weigh ins. Check it out below:
1 year difference to the day.
I am the American dream. I am the chingona they warned you about. You can have the career, have the family, have the hobbies, ALL OF IT
Never give up on yourself or your dreams. Always bet on you. DO HARD SHIT AND FIND OUT WHO YOU REALLY ARE.
(Or don’t sometimes, because a mama is TIRED)
Earlier this week, Avila was asked about the past year and what she had to endure to get back into fight shape. The 35-year-old contender revealed that it wasn’t easy and that she needed all the help from her team, but that the journey was completely worth it.
“I went up to 225 pounds and I was huge,” Avila said at UFC Austin’s media day (via MMA Junkie). “I lost almost 100 pounds. I’m going to be almost 100 pounds difference from this time last year, and I don’t think people realize.
“It was the effort and the struggle and the pain that I had to go through and my team had to go through and witness. But I would do it all over again if I needed to. I don’t need to, luckily. I’m not going to. I’m going to see this through and there’s going to be a title in my future. That’s the goal.”
Luckily, Avila will have a prime opportunity to reap the benefits of her hard work. Tate is undoubtedly the most accomplished fighter Avila has ever fought and a win over “Cupcake” would put her right back on track at 135 pounds, even coming off a 30-month layoff.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Austin fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.