Shanna Marie Leonard Young (born February 20, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division. She has previously competed in the

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

(UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL).

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" thr ...

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 where she was an All-American in 2010. She later transferred to East Tennessee State University from where she graduated with bachelor's degree in exercise science.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career and Invicta FC

After three relatively comfortable victories, Young took a hard-fought split decision over Pam Sorenson. 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. Young was supposed to face Raquel Pa'aluhi in her Invicta FC 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 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 against Macy Chiasson on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Young faced Stephanie Egger 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 on April 30, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 35. She won the fight via TKO in the second round. Young was scheduled to face

Miranda Maverick Miranda Rachelle Maverick (born July 1, 1997) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She competed in Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Invicta Figh ...

on August 20, 2022, at UFC 278. However, the bout was cancelled due to Young was hospitalised due to weight cutting issues. The pair was rescheduled at

UFC Fight Night 214 ''UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Lemos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 214, UFC on ESPN+ 72'' and ''UFC Vegas 64'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 5, 2022 at the UFC ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. On November 16, 2022, it was announced that Young was no longer on the UFC roster.

PFL

Young faced Sandra Lavado on February 24, 2024, at PFL Challenger Series 13, winning the bout via unanimous decision. Young faced Kana Watanabe at PFL 1 on April 4, 2024 and lost the bout by unanimous decision. Young missed weight, so she was fined a percentage of her purse and given a point deduction in the standings. Young faced Ilara Joanne at PFL 4 on June 13, 2024. She lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Return to Invicta FC

Young made her return to Invicta at Invicta FC 58 against Pamela Boveda on November 6, 2024. She would win the fight via technical knockout just 23 seconds into the first round. In her next fight, Young would face

Katharina Lehner Katharina Lehner (born April 9, 1990) is a German mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. She has also previously fought in Bellator MMA and Invicta FC. She fought Sarah Kaufman (fighter), Sarah ...

at Invicta FC 60 on February 7, 2025. She would lose the fight via split decision.

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 promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

** Women's Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense * Invicta Fighting Championships **Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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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 Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters American female karateka American female sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American sportswomen