The UFC will be landing in Des Moines, Iowa, with a stellar Fight Night as the first event of May 2025. Flyweight contender Juliana Miller, who desperately needs a win, will take on Ivana Petrovic, as they’ll open the show at the Wells Fargo Arena. Both fighters will be coming off losses and are pretty much in the same boat, but they are hoping to secure a win to further their ambitions in the division.
UFC is just on a different level when it comes to the level of competition. Take Ivana Petrovic for instance. The 30-year-old was undefeated until she stepped foot inside the Octagon for the first time in 2023. Petrovic suffered her first professional loss on her debut, and even though she was able to bounce back with a win, she had lost the fight thereafter. Nevertheless, she’s a promising fighter, and ahead of her fight this weekend, let’s take a look at her background.
What is Ivana Petrovic’s ethnicity and nationality?
Ivana Petrovic comes from a nation that’s known for being a soccer powerhouse. However, her country does have a couple of MMA icons as well. After Mirko Cro Cop and Stipe Miocic (although he’s American by nationality), we have Petrovic, hailing from Croatia. Yes, she’s a Croatian citizen, although people with a similar surname can also be of Serbian, Slovak, and/or Slovenian origin.
When it comes to her ethnicity, she appears to have Slavic roots, which is a popular community in the South-Eastern part of Europe. But guess what? She reportedly has a bit of German in her as well. However, when it comes to competing professionally, Ivana Petrovic fights out of Tønsberg, Norway, but represents Croatia in the UFC.
Petrovic’s native country has seen many ups and downs, but things got worse after Croatia’s independence as the nation was torn by war till 1995. However, the people persevered, and now, it’s growing as a strong economic force within the European Union. Now, let’s move over to take a look at the details regarding Ivana Petrovic’s faith. Here’s what we know.
Which religion does Ivana Petrovic follow?
Well, Ivana Petrovic was reportedly born in Germany, but she’s every bit a Croatian. When it comes to what religion she adheres to, we’ll have to take a look at the religious composition of her native country. It appears that Croatia is predominantly a Christian country, and the majority of the people follow a common branch of Christianity. To be exact, about 79 percent of Croatians are Catholics, and Petrovic could belong to this community.
However, there are a few more religious communities in Croatia as well. After the Catholics, 3.3 percent population are Serbian Orthodox, 1.3 percent of the population are Muslims, and there are a few other religious communities as well. As we’ve already mentioned, Ivana Petrovic’s surname is quite popular in Croatia and also in Serbia. So there’s a chance that she can be a Serbian Orthodox as well. However, the 30-year-old has never spoken about her religion on a public platform.
Well, we now know who Ivana Petrovic is, but we are yet to know if she has the caliber to become a champion in the UFC. While Ivana Petrovic lost her last fight, her opponent is on a 2-fight losing skid. It will be interesting to see who’s hungrier to win this weekend at UFC Des Moines, but in the meantime, let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
The post Where Is Ivana Petrovic From? Ethnicity, Religion, & More appeared first on EssentiallySports.
