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Julija Stoliarenko

Julija Stoliarenko (born 8 April 1993) is a Lithuanian mixed martial artist, Lethwei fighter, submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt athlete.

A two-time European Open champion and two-time IBJJF World medallist in the lower BJJ belt divisions; Stoliarenko is an ADCC Submission Fighting European medallist and currently competes in MMA in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Stoliarenko is the former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion and ILFJ Women's Featherweight Lethwei World Champion.

Background

Stoliarenko's father introduced her to karate when she was 12, eventually progressing towards Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts.

Lethwei career

On June 16, 2017, Stoliarenko made her Lethwei debut at Lethwei in Japan 4: Frontier in Tokyo, Japan and knocked out Burmese Lethwei fighter Su Hlaing Oo.

On November 15, 2017, Stoliarenko faced top female Lethwei fighter in Vero Nika in Lethwei Grand Prix Japan 2017 in Tokyo and ultimately won the Japan Lethwei World Title by TKO.

On October 2, 2019, Stoliarenko made her first ILFJ title defence at Lethwei in Japan 14 and defeated Japanese fighter Yugia by TKO in the first round.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2018, Julija Stoliarenko was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters. In the Ultimate Fighter finale Stoliarenko lost to Leah Letson.

Invicta FC

On March 6, 2020, Julija defeated Liza Verzosa to win Invicta Bantamweight Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On August 8, 2020, Stoliarenko faced Yana Kunitskaya at UFC Fight Night 174. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Stoliarenko was expected to face Julia Avila at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20, 2021. However at the weigh ins, Stoliarenko suffered a syncopal episode on the scale and the fight was scrapped. The pair was rescheduled and took place at UFC Fight Night 190. Stoliarenko lost the fight by submission in the third round.

Stoliarenko faced Alexis Davis at UFC Fight Night 200 on February 5, 2022. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Stoliarenko faced Jessica-Rose Clark on July 2, 2022 at UFC 276. She won the fight via armbar submission less than a minute into round one, thus earning her first victory in UFC in the process. This performance earned her the Performance of the Night bonus award.

Stoliarenko, as a replacement for Leah Letson, faced Chelsea Chandler in a catchweight bout of 140 pounds on October 1, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 211. She lost the bout via TKO stoppage at the end of the first round.

Stoliarenko faced Molly McCann in a flyweight bout on July 22, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 224. She won the fight by armbar submission in the first round.

Stoliarenko faced Luana Carolina on February 3, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 235. At the weigh-ins, Luana Carolina weighed in at 128 pounds, two pounds over the women's flyweight non-title fight limit. Her bout proceeded at catchweight with Carolina forfeiting an undisclosed percentage of her purse, which went to Stoliarenko. She lost the fight via technical knockout in the third round.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu & Submission grappling career

Competing as a blue belt at the 2015 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Stoliarenko won bronze in the middleweight division and silver in open class. As a purple belt, she won bronze at the 2016 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Competing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour 2017–2018 – Tokyo in the −70 kg Purple division, she won silver after defeating Miyu Omani via submission. In 2018 Stoliarenko won the European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the medium heavy purple belt division. Promoted to brown belt, she won bronze at the 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship. In 2019 she won a silver medal at the ADCC Submission Fighting European Championship, the same year she won silver at the World Championship in medium heavy and bronze in open class.

She was promoted to BJJ black belt on 13 November 2021. In 2022 Stoliarenko took part in the 2nd ADCC European Trial organised in Luboń, Poland in the +60 kg category, she was defeated by Norwegian Ane Svendsen by points 6x0 in the quarter-finals. In 2022 she failed to win any medals at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour 2022 in London after finishing fourth of the −70 kg division.

In 2023 she won the Masters 1 European IBJJF Open Championship in the middleweight division, also winning silver in the openweight.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Jessica-Rose Clark.
Invicta Fighting Championships
- Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
Celtic Gladiator
- CG Bantamweight Champion (One time)