Las Vegas, NV — At 29, UFC bantamweight Julija Stoliarenko has already been in the sport of mixed martial arts over a decade.
On Saturday at UFC 276, she showed killer instinct in her card-opener against Jessica-Rose Clark, getting the dangerous striker down early and putting her away with an arm-bar.
The lasting image of the fight was of Clark’s mangled limb; during her post-fight appearance with the media, Stoliarenko (10-6-2) explained how a change in mind set has made her submission game all the more perilous for opponents.
“I’m fighting for a lot of years. I’m in mixed martial arts since I was 17 years [old], and I had a couple of fights in MMA, couple of fights in jiu-jitsu, where I do regret that I did it too soft,” she told media outlets including Cageside Press. “And those moments where I lost those submissions, they teach me to snap, snap it until the referee stops it. And this is what I’m doing now, every time I get submission. If I get submission, I’m going to snap it.”
At least, she added, “until the referee will stop it. Of course, I don’t want to injure my opponents, but it’s up to them when to tap. And if she’s not tapping, I’m going to do my work.”
Julija Stoliarenko’s submission of Jessica-Rose Clark marks her first win in the UFC, snapping a three-fight skid the Lithuanian has endured since jumping from Invicta FC to the big show in 2020.
As it turns out, it’s also the second-fastest submission in women’s bantamweight history in the company, which introduced the division in 2013. 42 seconds it all it took Stoliarenko to get the job done; only Ronda Rousey has submitted anyone faster in the women’s 135 pound division.
“That’s amazing,” Stoliarenko said backstage, noting that she’d heard the news following the fight. “I was shocked. To be able to do such a fast submission is not a surprise for me by myself, but to be able to do that in the UFC — that’s a different story.”
Watch the full UFC 276 post-fight press scrum with Julija Stoliarenko above.
