Michael Chiesa on UFC teammate Julianna Pena's arrest: 'She'll be back stronger'

LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa is again defending his longtime teammate Julianna Pena, who was recently in the headlines after she was arrested following an alleged bar brawl.

“Julie’s a good person,” Chiesa told MMAjunkie backstage at UFC 195, which took place Saturday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. “People make mistakes. She’s 26 years old, and it doesn’t define her as a person.

“This one thing, people are still forgetting she’s the No. 6 bantamweight female in the world. She’s a phenomenal fighter, and people are going to screw up at one point. Sometimes, it’s unfortunate when people screw up that it makes headlines.”

Julianna Pena

Pena, the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” has three straight UFC wins. She was arrested this past month after allegedly groin-kicking two employees of a bar that denied her entrance. She was charged with two counts of assault and faces up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Chiesa, a training partner of Pena’s at SikJitsu in Spokane, Wash., said police reports of the incident are “pretty accurate” and added he feels partially responsible for what happened at the bar.

Chiesa said Pena asked him to hang out that ill-fated night, but having just returned from a win at UFC 194, he didn’t feel like tagging along.

According to police reports, Pena said she and another training partner, Joshua Gow, were involved in a large brawl outside another bar and were trying to use the bathroom at the bar from which they were ejected.

“If I was there, it never would have happened,” Chiesa said. “I would have been like, ‘Ah, we’re out of here.'”

The UFC has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, and Pena and Chiesa’s longtime coach, Rick Little, have not responded to requests for comment.

Chiesa, who’s looking for a top-10 opponent following a win over veteran Jim Miller, defended his team after a training accident left Pena with a severe knee injury. He remains loyal to his teammate and team after the most recent controversy.

“She’ll become a better person for it,” he said. “Peaks and valleys. You’ve got to hit your lows to hit your highs. I think she’ll be alright.”

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