An opportunity at a seven-figure payday serves as extra motivation
for Julia Budd, a martial artist in her late 30s with little else
left to accomplish.
The former
Bellator
MMA champion will open her first full season on the
Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight roster when
she meets Genah Fabian as part of the
PFL 3 undercard on Friday at Esports Stadium in Arlington,
Texas. Budd, 38, has rattled off 14 wins across her past 15
appearances, a January 2020 knockout loss to
Cristiane
“Cyborg” Justino the lone hiccup. She made her PFL debut on
Oct. 27, when she took a three-round unanimous decision from
Kaitlin Young.
As Budd inches closer to her high-stakes confrontation with Fabian
at 155 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped
shape her career to this point:
Amanda Nunes
The emerging Brazilian wasted little time making her presence felt
in her promotional debut, as she leveled Budd with punches in the
first round of their Strikeforce Challengers 13 showcase on Jan. 7,
2011 at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. It
was over in just 14 seconds. Just 22 years old at the time, Nunes
uncorked a quick inside leg kick at the start and then fired away
with power punches. Her initial burst put Budd on her heels before
a straight left dropped the Canadian where she stood. Seven
unanswered hammerfists from Nunes punctuated the finish and
prompted referee Jeff Mackens to intervene.
Ronda Rousey
The onetime Olympic bronze medalist continued her shock-and-awe
campaign when she submitted Budd with an armbar in the first round
of their Strikeforce Challengers 20 co-feature on Nov. 18, 2011 at
the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Rousey drew the curtain just
39 seconds into Round 1. The decorated judoka walked through Budd’s
punches, lured her into the clinch and executed an immediate
takedown. In an instant, the situation had grown dire. Rousey
climbed to full mount, isolated an exposed limb and cinched the
armbar. She went belly-down with the technique and then rolled to a
more traditional position, appearing to dislocate Budd’s right
elbow in the process. The Canadian muay Thai practitioner could
only retreat to her corner in stunned silence, months of
preparation having unraveled in less than a minute.
Marloes Coenen
Budd overpowered the Golden Glory star to a fourth-round finish and
captured the inaugural Bellator MMA women’s featherweight
championship in the Bellator 174 headliner on March 3, 2017 at the
Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Coenen succumbed to
blows 2:42 into Round 4, with very little having gone right for
her. Budd struck for takedowns in all four rounds, threaded her
ground-and-pound through the Dutchwoman’s spidery guard and
consolidated all of it with suffocating top control. She dragged
Coenen to the canvas inside the first minute of Round 4, achieved
full mount and let loose with a sustained volley of punches and
elbows until referee John McCarthy had seen enough. Afterward,
Coenen announced her retirement from mixed martial arts at the age
of 35.
Arlene Blencowe
Working within the narrowest of margins, Budd retained the
undisputed Bellator MMA women’s featherweight crown with a split
decision over the rugged Australian in the Bellator 189 main event
on Dec. 1, 2017 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville,
Oklahoma. Judges Todd Anderson and David Sutherland struck 49-46
scorecards for Budd, while Michael Bell saw it 48-47 for Blencowe.
A rematch of an October 2016 pairing that saw Budd emerge with a
majority verdict, the sequel devolved into a tepid, grimy affair
that was plagued by inactivity. Blencowe was the superior fighter
in open space and managed to control distance from the center of
the cage for much of the forgettable 25-minute encounter. However,
she failed to seize the reins in a meaningful away and allowed Budd
to score with intermittent kicks to the leg and body. The Canadian
champion excelled at close range, utilized knees to the body
whenever possible and mixed in a few takedowns for added flavor,
but neither woman seemed willing or able to shift out of first
gear. They left their fate in the hands of the judiciary, and Budd
exited the cage as the ultimate beneficiary.
Cristiane Justino
“Cyborg” strengthened her unparalleled resume with some patented
violence when she buried Budd with punches and laid claim to the
undisputed Bellator MMA women’s featherweight championship in the
fourth round of their Bellator 238 headliner on Jan. 25, 2020 at
The Forum in Inglewood, California. Budd checked out 74 seconds
into Round 4, experiencing her first defeat in more than eight
years. Justino established her dominance from the start—she knocked
down the Canadian in the first round—and never relented, pairing
steady pressure with mesmerizing bursts of punches, knees and
kicks. Budd survived into the fourth round, where “Cyborg” pinned
her to the fence and unleashed her hands, feet and knees until the
champion collapsed. The stoppage made Justino the first woman to
win titles in Bellator, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship,
Strikeforce
and
Invicta Fighting Championships.