Julia Olivia Budd (born July 4, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gener ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

competing in the Women's

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

(PFL). She has fought in MMA promotions '' Strikeforce'' and ''

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

'' and is the first and former Bellator Women's Featherweight world champion.

Martial arts training

Budd practiced

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

for many years and later became the only woman to defeat American Gina Carano in

competition. Her second and final loss in the ring came by Germaine de Randamie, after which Budd made the move to MMA. Her Muay Thai record is 10–2. She began training in MMA at the end of 2008 and avenged her loss to de Randamie when she defeated her via unanimous decision in a 2011 MMA bout. Budd trains at the ''Gibson Kickboxing & Pankration'' Academy.

Mixed martial arts career

Budd made her MMA debut on at ''Strikeforce Challengers 11'', defeating Shana Nelson via TKO in the second round. In her second fight for the promotion, Budd was knocked out in 14 seconds by

Amanda Nunes Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...

at ''Strikeforce Challengers 13'' on . On , Budd faced Germaine de Randamie in a rematch under MMA rules at ''Strikeforce Challengers 16''. She defeated de Randamie via unanimous decision. Budd's final fight for Strikeforce came on when she was submitted by

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

at ''Strikeforce Challengers 20''.

Invicta Fighting Championships

In 2012, Budd signed with

and faced

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

fighter Elina Nilsson at '' Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann'' on . She defeated Nilsson via TKO in the first round. Budd returned to Invicta FC on at '' Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama''. She was originally scheduled to face

Elaina Maxwell Elaina Maureen Maxwell (born December 16, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, and professional kickboxer. As a three-time San Shou Champion & BJJ purple belt, she trains under the guidance of Kirian Fitzgibbons and Cesar Grac ...

, but Maxwell sustained a concussion in training and Budd instead faced Danielle West. She defeated West via TKO in the first round. Budd was scheduled to face Ediane Gomes at '' Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson'' on . However, on , it was announced that Invicta FC had signed Cristiane Santos to face Gomes on the card and Budd was to face Australian Fiona Muxlow. On , Invicta FC announced that Gomes was injured and that Muxlow would now face Santos. Budd remained on the card and instead faced Mollie Estes. She won the fight via submission in the third round. Budd was again scheduled to face Ediane Gomes at '' Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg'' on . However, she suffered a neck injury and withdrew from the fight on . On , Budd faced Charmaine Tweet at ''Invicta FC 7''. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Bellator MMA

In August 2014, Budd signed with Bellator. Budd was expected to make her promotional debut at Bellator 133 on February 13, 2015 versus

Talita Nogueira Talita Nogueira (born October 13, 1985) is a female Brazilian practitioner and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist competing in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of Bellator MMA, Bellator. Talita Nogueira is most notable for be ...

. However, Nogueira pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury, so Budd instead faced Gabrielle Holloway. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Budd was set to face former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion

Marloes Coenen Marloes Coenen (born March 31, 1981) is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist. She competed professionally from 2000 to 2017 and is a former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Early life Coenen's brothers and grandfather were both involv ...

for the inaugural Bellator Woman's Featherweight Championship at Bellator 155, however Budd got injured and was replaced by Alexis Dufresne in a non-title fight bout. Budd faced Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 162 on October 21, 2016. She won the fight by majority decision. Budd faced

for Bellator Inaugural Women's Featherweight World Championship at Bellator 174 on March 3, 2017. She stopped the veteran Coenen in the fourth round via strikes after securing the full mount position. In her first title defense, Budd faced Arlene Blencowe in a rematch on December 1, 2017 at Bellator 189. She won the fight by split decision. In her second title defense, Budd faced

on July 13, 2018 at Bellator 202. She won the fight and successfully defended her title via TKO in the third round. In April 2019, news surfaced that Budd had signed a new, four-fight contract with Bellator. On the first bout of the new deal, Budd faced

Olga Rubin Olga Rubin ( he, אולגה רובין, russian: Ольга Рубин, born August 18, 1989) is an Israeli female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2016, she fought in Bellator MMA, most notably ...

on July 12, 2019 at Bellator 224. She won the bout in the first round, dropping Rubin with a body kick and then ground and pounding her to a TKO victory. In her fourth title defense, Budd faced

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, ...

on January 25, 2020 at Bellator 238 in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. She lost the fight via technical knockout in round four. Budd faced Jessy Miele on August 21, 2020 at Bellator 234. She won the bout via unanimous decision. Budd was initially expected to face

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

Brazil champion Dayana Silva at

Bellator 256 Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 9, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background The event was headlined by a Quarterfinal of the Bellator ...

on April 9, 2021. However, the fight was rescheduled and eventually took place on April 16, 2021 at Bellator 257. Budd won the bout via split decision and became a free agent after fighting out her contract.

Professional Fighters League

On September 29, 2021, news surfaced that Budd had signed with

and made her debut against Kaitlin Young on October 27, 2021 at PFL 10. She won the bout in decisive fashion via unanimous decision.

2022 season

Budd faced Genah Fabian on May 6, 2022 at PFL 3. At weigh-ins, Fabian missed weight for her bout, weighing in at 160.8 pounds, 4.8 pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. She was fined 20 percent of her purse, ineligible to win playoff points, given a walkover loss, and was penalized one point in the standings. Budd received a walkover win regardless of bout outcome but was eligible to gain stoppage points. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Budd was scheduled to face

Kayla Harrison Kayla Jean Harrison (born July 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former Olympic and world champion judoka, currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Harrison competed in the weight category in jud ...

on July 1, 2022 at PFL 6. However, a week before the event, Budd pulled out due to injury. Budd faced Aspen Ladd on November 25, 2022 at PFL 10. She lost the bout via split decision.

Personal life

Budd is married to former MMA fighter Lance Gibson and step-mother of current Bellator lightweight fighter Lance Gibson Jr.

Championships and accomplishments

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

Bellator Women's Featherweight World Championship Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...

(one time; first; former) ***Three successful title defenses **Tied (with Arlene Blencowe) for most fights in Bellator Women's Featherweight division history (10) **Most victories in Bellator Women's Featherweight division history (nine)

Mixed martial arts record

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

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, TKO (punches) , Bellator 238 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:14 ,

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, TKO (body kick and punches) , Bellator 224 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

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, TKO (punches) , Bellator 202 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Arlene Blencowe , Decision (split) , Bellator 189 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, TKO (punches) , Bellator 174 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Arlene Blencowe , Decision (majority) , Bellator 162 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Roberta Rovel , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 146 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Gabrielle Holloway , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 133 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Charmaine Tweet , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC: Honchak vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kansas City, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Mollie Estes , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Invicta FC: Penne vs. Waterson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:04 , Kansas City, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Danielle West , TKO (elbows and punches) , Invicta FC: Penne vs. Sugiyama , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Germaine de Randamie , Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce Challengers: Fodor vs. Terry , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kent, Washington, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

, KO (punches) , Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:14 ,

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Kickboxing record

, - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2008-05-03 , , Loss , , align=left, Germaine de Randamie , , Next Generation Warriors , ,

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, , TKO (punches) , , 1 , , 1:57 , , 10–2 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2007-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Nop , , Bangla Stadium , , Phuket, Thailand , , KO (knee) , , 1 , , , , 10–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2007-05-12 , , Win , , align=left, Natalie Fuz , , Shindo Kumate 12 , , Tampa, Florida, US , , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 9–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2006-12-08 , , Win , , align=left, Chrisanne Roseliep , , Shindo Kumate , , Tampa, Florida, US , , Decision (split) , , 3 , , 3:00 , , 8–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 0000-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Kayla Drane , , , , , , TKO , , 4 , , , , 7–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2006-04-00 , , Win , , align=left, Lindsay Ball , , , , Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada , , Decision (split) , , , , , , 6–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2005-06-04 , , Win , , align=left, Keri Scarr , , King of Gladiators , ,

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, , Decision , , , , , , 5–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2005-03-00 , , Win , , align=left, Gina Carano , , , , , , Decision , , , , , , 4–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 0000-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Jodi Hensel , , , , , , Decision , , , , , , 3–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 0000-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Vanessa Parente , , , , , , TKO , , 4 , , , , 2–1 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 0000-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Brenna Shaw , , , , , , KO , , 2 , , , , 1–1 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 0000-00-00 , , Loss , , align=left, Danielle Quee , , , , , , , , , , , , 0–1 , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

*
Julia Budd
a
Awakening Fighters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Budd, Julia 1983 births Living people Canadian female mixed martial artists Canadian female kickboxers Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing pankration Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Female Muay Thai practitioners Canadian Muay Thai practitioners Bellator MMA champions Bellator female fighters