Sijara Jihan Eubanks ( ; born April 27, 1985)Mixed martial arts show results Date: September 12, 2020
/ref> is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the women's

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of 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 ( ...

Background

Eubanks was born and raised in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, and graduated from the High School of Commerce. She then went to

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

. She started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Lloyd Irvin in 2008 and to extend her repertoire for mixed martial arts, she later started boxing and other disciplines. She competed in jiu-jitsu, winning the Women's No-Gi Advanced Absolute division in the 2011 Grapplers Quest World Championship Finals and IBJJF World Championship as a brown belt in 2014.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After an undefeated MMA record as an amateur, she turned professional in April 2015.

Invicta FC

Eubanks made her professional debut on April 24, 2015, against Gina Begley at Invicta FC 12. She won the fight via TKO in the first round. In her second pro bout, Eubanks faced

Katlyn Chookagian Katlyn Cerminara (; born December 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight division and currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

at Cage Fury FC 52 on October 31, 2015. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. In her second fight for Invicta FC, Eubanks faced AmberLynn Orr on July 29, 2016, at Invicta FC 18. She won the fight via TKO in the first round. In her third fight for the promotion, Eubanks faced

Aspen Ladd Aspen Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts car ...

on January 14, 2017, at Invicta FC 21. She lost the fight by unanimous decision, bringing her record to 2-2 before joining ''The Ultimate Fighter''.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2017, Eubanks was announced to be one of the fighters featured on '' The Ultimate Fighter 26'', where the process to crown the UFC's inaugural 125-pound women's champion was to take place. In the first round, Eubanks defeated Maia Stevenson via submission in the second round, allowing her to move on to the next stage of the competition. In the quarterfinals, Eubanks faced

DeAnna Bennett DeAnna Danielle Bennett (born November 18, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional since 2012, she has previously competed for Bellator MMA, Invicta Fighting Championships, and Ultimate ...

and won the fight by a knockout in round one. In the semifinals, Eubanks faced Roxanne Modafferi. She won the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Eubanks was scheduled to face Nicco Montaño on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale for the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Championship. She was pulled from the fight for kidney failure while trying to make weight, and was replaced by Roxanne Modafferi. Eubanks made her UFC debut against Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes on June 1, 2018. She won the bout by unanimous decision. Eubanks was scheduled to face Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant UFC Women's Flyweight Championship at UFC 230 on November 3, 2018. However, the fight was canceled on October 9, 2018, after the UFC announced that a fight between

Daniel Cormier Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler, and current color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweig ...

and Derrick Lewis would instead main event UFC 230 and that Shevchenko would also return to her original bout for the vacant title, against

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk (, born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist, Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer. Jędrzejczyk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she holds several records and is a forme ...

UFC 231 ''UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on December 8, 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between M ...

. Eubanks remained on the card and faced Roxanne Modafferi. At the weigh-ins, Eubanks weighed in at 127.2 pounds, 1.2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126 and she was fined 20 percent of her purse, which went to her opponent Modafferi. She won the fight via unanimous decision. A rematch with

took place on May 18, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 152. Eubanks lost to Ladd for the second time by unanimous decision. This fight earned her the ''Fight of the Night'' award. Eubanks faced Bethe Correia at

UFC on ESPN+ 17 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Eubanks was scheduled to face

Sarah Moras Sarah Ashley Moras (born 30 April 1988) is a Canadians, Canadian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. Moras fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and she was a contes ...

on April 18, 2020, at

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and rescheduled to May 13, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Eubanks was scheduled to face Macy Chiasson on September 5, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 176. However, Chiasson pulled out of the fight for undisclosed medical reasons and was replaced by Karol Rosa. Rosa pulled out on September 3 due to complications related to her weight cut. Eubanks competed a week later at UFC Fight Night 177 on September 12, 2020, against Julia Avila. She won the fight via unanimous decision. As the first fight of her new contract with the UFC, Eubanks was scheduled for a quick turnaround (replacing injured Marion Reneau) and faced

Ketlen Vieira Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born 26 August 1991) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women's Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 8 ...

on September 27, 2020, at UFC 253. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Eubanks faced

Pannie Kianzad Pannie Pantea Kianzad (born December 8, 1991) is an Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Women's Bantamweight division, having previously fought in Invicta FC and Cage Warriors where ...

on December 19, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 183. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Eubanks was scheduled to face Karol Rosa on June 12, 2021, at UFC 263. However, Rosa pulled out of the fight in late-May citing an injury. In turn, Eubanks was removed from the card and instead faced promotional newcomer Elise Reed on July 24, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 27. Eubanks won the fight via technical knockout in round one. Eubanks was scheduled to face Luana Carolina, replacing Maryna Moroz, on October 16, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 195. In turn Eubanks was pulled from the event due to Covid-19 protocol and she was replaced by Lupita Godinez. Eubanks faced Melissa Gatto on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus. At the weigh-ins, Eubanks weighed in at 127.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight. She lost the fight via body kick TKO in the third round. Eubanks was scheduled to face Maryna Moroz on July 9, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 209. However, the pair was moved to UFC Fight Night 210 on September 17, 2022, for undisclosed reasons. In early September, Moroz was rebooked against Jennifer Maia at UFC Fight Night 215 on November 19, 2022. In late August, Eubanks withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons with the promotion seeking a new opponent for Moroz. Eubanks was scheduled to face

Priscila Cachoeira Priscila Cachoeira Gomes da Silva (born 19 August 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personal life Cachoeira had a troubled childhood growing ...

on January 14, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 217. However, at the weigh-ins it was announced that Eubanks was forced to withdraw due to complications with her weight cut. It was announced in mid-January 2023 that Eubanks was released by UFC.

Professional grappling career

Eubanks was invited to compete a 135lbs grappling tournament at Rise Invitational 11 on April 1, 2023.

Personal life

Eubanks is an openly lesbian athlete. In February 2021, Eubanks came under fire from many MMA fans and media after a video was posted to her

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

page that showed Eubanks in a physical confrontation with her former live-in partner, Lilly Ruiz, in front of their child. In a statement posted to her

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page, Eubanks claimed that she was the victim of domestic violence and denied any claims that she was abusive to any partners. No charges were filed. In June 2024, Eubanks married her partner of two years, Angelyce Serrano, in a private ceremony.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (One time) **UFC.com Awards ***2018: Ranked #10 Newcomer of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eubanks, Sijara 1985 births Living people LGBTQ mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Massachusetts Flyweight mixed martial artists American female mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from Massachusetts American lesbian sportswomen Morgan State University alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters LGBTQ Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American sportswomen Sportspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts