In the quest for greatness, fighters sometimes lose sight of the important things outside the Octagon. Of course, every UFC fighter’s goal is to reach the belt, but let’s face it – reality is a bit different. Of the hundreds of fighters that come and go in the UFC, only a handful get to wear the belt around their waists. Enter UFC bantamweight Julia Alvila. At UFC Vegas 102 ‘Raging Panda’ decided to announce her retirement following her decision loss to Jacqueline Cavalcanti. While it was an emotional night for the bantamweight fighter, it was her daughter who garnered attention on social media. The fans were taken aback by Avila’s daughter, who decided to share some reactions on X.
Unsurprisingly, Julia Avila had one goal when she made her UFC debut back in 2019, which was to win the UFC title. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and after just 13 professional fights in her overall MMA career, the 36-year-old decided to call it a career as she lost in her return to the Octagon after being on the bleachers for more than a year. Despite not making it to the title, she proved to be a beacon of “hope” for her close ones, including her teammates, for realizing her American dream.
“I was never able to be the champion that my friends and fans and teammates deserved, but I was able to do something so much more. I was able to give them hope,” Julia Avila stated during the post-fight press conference. “I was able to show that even a poor girl from the streets of LA, first-generation American can take advantage of all the great opportunities that this great country has to offer.”
Julia Avila’s final message about retirement after #UFCVegas102 was hijacked by her daughter pic.twitter.com/4yYdTkyd8S
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 15, 2025
Julia Avila is of Mexican descent and has a profession as a geologist outside of fighting. She had her daughter with her during the presser, and while Avila was speaking, her toddler decided to interrupt the now-former UFC fighter as she grabbed the microphone. And this moment was met with some heartwarming comments from the fans. Here’s what they had to say.
Fans were in awe of Julia Avila’s daughter
A sad moment turned into a precious one for Julia Avila as some fans found her daughter to be “so adorable” and “cute.” Some fans also believe that the former UFC fighter’s daughter could very well follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a UFC fighter herself in the future. “Looks like the real champ took the mic she’s got a bright future ahead congrats julia on an amazing career,” a fan added in that regard.
It’s not the first time someone has brought their children during a press conference. Remember Rush Holloway? Having your child certainly helps ease the tension when reporters are firing question after question. But not everyone gets to hold the microphone like Julia Avila’s daughter did as one fan added a hilarious comment on X, claiming, “Kid be like lemme have a real quick say too ’em momma.”
But fans also gave Julia Avila her props. Despite the loss, they found her performance quite pleasing. On that note, an X user said, “Great fight.” Also, getting to see her daughter made fans realize that she indeed has a great family to look forward to beyond her UFC career. “she is so Blessed to have that little bundle of love on her lap, loved this hope the good Lord blesses her and family.”
However, not everyone responded kindly as one user pointed out that they didn’t like fighters bringing their children to press conferences. They believe Dana White should stop allowing this. “I really don’t like when the bring kids on stage I’ve got kids too but I don’t see any reason to bring them with u after the fight,” a fan said.
Well, everybody has their opinions as to how they feel when they see UFC fighters having their children around during press conferences. What do you think about Julia Avila’s latest stunt? Let us know in the comments down below.
The post “She Is So Blessed”- UFC World in Meltdown as Julia Avila’s Daughter Crashes UFC Press Conference appeared first on EssentiallySports.
