Shanna Marie Leonard Young (born February 20, 1991) is an American

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 ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division. She has previously competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Young, following her younger brother, started

Shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throu ...

at the age of eight and after a few years switched to competitive karate in which she competed until high school. She started wrestling while attending Franklin County High School and after faring well solely against boys she took a wrestling scholarship at

King University King University is a private Presbyterian-affiliated university in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). ...

where she was an All-American in 2010. She later transferred to

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

from where she graduated with bachelor's degree in

exercise science Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career and Invicta FC

After three relatively comfortable victories, Young took a hard-fought split decision over

Pam Sorenson Pam Sorenson (born March 3, 1986) is a female American mixed martial artist who competes in Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. She has previously competed in Invicta Fighting Championships, where she is the former Invicta FC Featherweight C ...

. After her win over Pam, she received news that she'd suffered a torn labrum in her hip. After recovering from that injury, she tore the same labrum again. She was out for two years due to these injuries before returning to fight for

Invicta FC 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 ...

. Young was supposed to face

Raquel Pa'aluhi Raquel Pa'aluhi Canuto (born October 14, 1990) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappler and former mixed martial artist. Canuto was awarded her Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by her coach Robert Drysdale. Raquel is the 2014, 2015, 2016, ...

in her

debut, but Raquel pulled out and was replaced by Lisa Verzosa on September 1, 2018, at Invicta FC 31: Jandiroba vs. Morandin. She lost the fight via a split decision. After losing this fight, she fought twice for Valor Fighting Challenge, winning both fights via stoppage before being invited on

Dana White's Contender Series Dana White's Contender Series, formerly named Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, is an American mixed martial arts promotion. In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold the competition weekly on UFC Fight Pass (It has since been move ...

to face Sarah Alpar on August 13, 2019. She lost the fight via 2nd round submission. Afterwards, she returned to Invicta and fought Maiju Suotama on November 1, 2019 at Invicta FC 38: Murata vs. Ducote. She won the fight via unanimous decision. After Mariya Agapova was forced to pull out of her fight against Daiana Torquato on February 7, 2020 at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II, Shanna Young replaced Mariya but she was not medically cleared after she fell ill the week of weigh ins.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Young made her UFC debut as a replacement for

Nicco Montaño Nicco Montaño (born December 16, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She was the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Champion. Background Of Navajo, Chicka ...

against Macy Chiasson on February 15, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 167 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Young faced

Stephanie Egger Stephanie Egger (born August 12, 1988) is a Swiss female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Egger is a judo black belt, having won the 2010 European U23 Championships ...

on October 2, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker. She lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Young faced

Gina Mazany Gina Marie Mazany (born August 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She formerly competed in King of the Cage in the Bantamweight division. Background Mazany was born in Ancho ...

on April 30, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 35 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 35'' and ''UFC Vegas 53'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 30, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada ...

. She won the fight via TKO in the second round. Young was scheduled to face Miranda Maverick on August 20, 2022 at UFC 278. However, the bout was cancelled due to Young was hopitalised due to weight cutting issues. The pair was rescheduled at UFC Fight Night 214. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. On November 16, 2022, it was announced that Young was no longer on the UFC roster.

Personal life

Young has two sons, Chase (born 2010) and Ray (born 2020).

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

** Women's Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense *

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 ...

**Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho ( es, Río Rancho) is the most populous and only city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It ...

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Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Sarah Alpar , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 24 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:55 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Anastasia Bruce , Submission (mounted triangle choke) , Valor Fighting Challenge 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Jessica Borga , Submission (punches) , Valor Fighting Challenge 54 , , align=Center, 3 , align=center, 3:24 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Lisa Verzosa , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 31: Jandiroba vs. Morandin , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kansas City, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, Decision (split) , KOTC: Generation X , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Carlton, Minnesota Carlton is a city in Carlton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 948 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carlton County. The town sits on the northwestern edge of Jay Cooke State Park. Minnesota State Highways 45 and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Christina Jobe , TKO (retirement) , KOTC: Bear Brawl , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Moriel Charneski , Decision (majority) , KOTC: Attack Mode , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Katelyn Dykas , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Valor Fights 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:53 ,

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Shanna Living people 1991 births American female mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters American female karateka American female sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers 21st-century American women