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Is Ronda Rousey fight in Julianna Peña's future after her arduous, drama-filled rehab?

Julianna Pena Says Legal Issues ‘Resolved,' Expects Summer UFC Return

Injuries are a way of life for professional fighters. They fight through many of them, and they understand that at some point or another, they might suffer one that will cause them to miss extended time.

Still, they're devastating and difficult to accept. For one, the injuries prevent the fighter from doing what he/she loves. More, it means no paycheck. Pro fighters are independent contractors, not employees, and they don't get paid if they don't fight.

The UFC provides insurance to cover training-camp injuries, but it's still difficult for fighters who need surgery.

Julianna Peña went through all of that when she tore four of the five ligaments in her right knee during a freak training accident on Jan. 28, 2014.

But Peña, who won Season 18 of "The Ultimate Fighter," had more to deal with than the stress of being seriously injured.

A controversy erupted after tweets from UFC president Dana White seemed to indicate she was intentionally attacked by a male teammate, Josh Gow.

White tweeted that Peña had been attacked and would be out for up to two years. At a media scrum shortly after Peña was hurt, White said the incident in which she was injured "sounds like assault to me," and that Gow "was talking smack to her and then basically attacked her."

Julianna Pena became the first ever women's Ultimate Fighter champion in 2013. (Getty)
Julianna Pena became the first ever women's Ultimate Fighter champion in 2013. (Getty)

Peña's gym, Sik-Jitsu Fighting Systems in Spokane, Wash., and her coaches and teammates there came under attack from all corners.

And so at the same time Pena was preparing for reconstructive surgery on her knee, she was also reading about her gym being an awful place and her teammates being thugs.

Peña called White when she was injured and was crying hysterically. Somehow the truth got lost in translation and what came out from White, Peña says, was not exactly what occurred.

That made things excruciatingly difficult for her.

"My gym was thrown under the bus and it was just a huge misunderstanding but was so difficult to deal with," said Peña, who returns to the Octagon for the first time since her injury when she faces Milana Dudieva on Saturday in Fairfax, Va. "I felt like everyone hated me, but like I said, it was just a big misunderstanding. My biggest mistake was calling up Dana right after the injury and bawling my eyes out hysterically while I was on my way to the hospital. That scared him a bit and he kind of over-exaggerated the injury.

"Once the boss speaks, everyone listens and everyone took his story and ran with it. I was kind of told to stay under wraps and lay low and that's what I did. But never once did I make it sound like a malicious thing and my partner did that on purpose."

There was the very real issue of whether she'd be the same. White arranged for her to be operated on at the famed Kerlan Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. While knee injuries that 25 years ago might have ended an athlete's career are repaired now and the athlete returns to competition none the worse for wear, Pena's injury was particularly gruesome.

She tore a hamstring, her anterior cruciate ligament, her medial collateral ligament, her lateral collateral ligament and her meniscus.

Orthopaedic surgeon Ronald S. Kvitne changed her life. Not only did he successfully repair her injuries, he gave her the one thing she needed most in those painful days after she was hurt:

Reassurance.

"Right when I was injured, the doctor told me that if I'd torn one more ligament, I never would have been able to fight again," said Peña, who showed during TUF that she has the talent to develop into a championship-level fighter. "Luckily, I only tore four out of five and they were fresh breaks. And it was fortunate for me that I was able to get it done by one of the best knee surgeons in the world.

"...[Dr. Kvitne] did an amazing job and was extremely confident I'd make a full return within a year."

It was almost as if Kvitne was prescient. On Jan. 28, a year to the day after Peña was injured, the UFC announced her bout in Fairfax.

Shayna Baszier (green shorts) tackles Julianna Pena (blue shorts) during their TUF prelim fight. (Getty)
Shayna Baszier (green shorts) tackles Julianna Pena (blue shorts) during their TUF prelim fight. (Getty)

Peña is eager to get back into the competition and to thrust herself into the mix to challenge Ronda Rousey for the championship.

Rousey has been so dominant that the UFC could use an opponent who could push her and, potentially, beat her.

Peña may not be at that stage yet, but she clearly has elite physical skills. She's confident, without question, though some on social media have attacked her for being cocky.

"I feel like I'm not getting the credit I deserve," Peña said. "I don't think I'm getting the respect I deserve. One of the things that makes me so upset is that I wanted to be valued as a UFC fighter and I want to be seen as a legitimate threat. I don't feel they give me that credit. Even though I won 'The Ultimate Fighter,' they still don't care, because they're just loyal Ronda fans.

"That's great, because I support her, too. I think she's fantastic, too, don't get me wrong. But I feel like a lot of people aren't looking into what has happened before they start criticizing me. I feel like they probably didn't even watch the season. I expected it, though. … And I feel like I'll silence them in due time."