UFC gloves Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
After definitive losses in her last two fights, ranked veteran bantamweight contender Julia Avila called it a career on Saturday night in the Octagon.
Avila, 36, lost a one-sided unanimous decision (30-27×3) to Jacqueline Cavalcanti on the UFC Vegas 102 prelims. Cavalcanti outstruck Avila in all three rounds and 73-54 overall. Coming into the fight, Avila was ranked No. 12, and Cavalcanti was No. 13.
After the fight, UFC analyst Daniel Cormier interviewed Avila. Noticing she’d left her gloves in the center of the Octagon, he asked her if she was indeed retiring.
“Yes, this is it,” Avila said as her young daughter reached for her mother to hold her. Avila thanked God for the opportunity to compete in the Octagon and felt at peace with her decision to walk away.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 15: Julia Avila announces her retirement after a decision loss against … [+]
The two women were likely going to switch places if Avila hadn’t retired, but with the announcement, Cavalcanti will almost certainly slide up to No. 12, Avila will exit the rankings, and someone else will find a spot in the rankings on Wednesday.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Jacqueline Cavalcanti of Brazil punches Julia Avila in a … [+]
Avila was hoping to grab a victory after losing via first-round submission in her last fight against the legend Miesha Tate in December 2023.
Unfortunately, age and inactivity seem to have taken a toll on Avila. Since 2020, Avila has fought just five times. While the women’s bantamweight division isn’t the toughest weight class in the UFC currently, it is almost impossible to stay sharp with so few fights.
When Avila broke into the UFC in 2019, she started her career with back-to-back wins before suffering a unanimous decision loss to Sijara Eubanks in September 2020. After that, Avila was extremely inactive, though she had fights with Nicco Montaño and Julija Stoliarenko canceled or postponed, respectively.
Avila didn’t fight at all in 2022 and most of 2023 before heading into what has proved to be the final two fights of her professional career.
Avila, aka “The Raging Panda,” walks away with a 9-4 record as a pro and 3-3 in the UFC. As for Cavalcanti, she should be in a position to challenge someone in the Top 10.
She is 9-1 and riding a seven-fight win streak.
Here is a look at all of the results from UFC Vegas 102.
UFC VEGAS 102 MAIN CARD RESULTS
- Jared Cannonier def. Gregory Rodrigues via fourth-round TKO
- Youssef Zalal def. Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Dylan Budka via first-round KO
- The win earned Shahbazyan a performance bonus.
- Nazim Sadykhov def. Ismael Bonfim via second-round TKO
- Andre Petroski def. Rodolfo Vieira via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
UFC VEGAS 102 PRELIMS RESULTS
- Jose Delgado def. Connor Matthews via first-round TKO
- Angela Hill def. Ketlen Souza via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
- Rafael Estevam def. Jesus Aguilar via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
- Gabriel Bonfim def. Khaos Williams via submission (D’Arce choke)
- Elijah Smith def. Vince Morales via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
- Valter Walker def. Don’Tale Mayes via submission (heel hook) (R1, 1:17)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Julia Avila via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
