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Anicia Brianna Fortino (née Van Buren; born August 4, 1993) is a former mixed martial artist (MMA) fighter from the United States, who used to compete in the strawweight division for UFC.

Background

Fortino grew up in Gilroy, California, with her mother. Due to the domestic sexual molestation that she was a victim of in her teens, she moved out of home at the age of 13. She ended up moving in with her uncle – Strikeforce veteran Anthony Figueroa – at whose gym she started training kickboxing, later picking up other disciplines. She attended and graduated from Gilroy High School where she played soccer and wrestled her sophomore year.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Fortino started her professional MMA career in 2012 and fought primarily in California. She amassed a record of 3–1 prior to being signed by Invicta FC.

Invicta Fighting Championships

Fortino made her Invicta FC debut on February 27, 2015, at Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet against Amy Montenegro. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Fortino next faced Jamie Moyle on December 15, 2018, at Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II. Moyle missed weight by nine pounds, weighing in at 125.1 lbs and forfeiting 25% of her purse to Van Buren. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

On May 3, 2019, Fortino competed in the first Phoenix Series tournament. A new one-night tournament to determine a new strawweight champion. In the opening round, she faced Manjit Kolekar and won the fight via submission by way of armbar in the first round. She moved on to face Juliana Lima in the semi-finals, winning the fight via unanimous decision. In the finals, Van Buren faced Kailin Curran. She submitted Curran in the second round with a rear naked choke to become the new Invicta FC Strawweight Champion. She would later vacate her title in order to sign with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On her UFC debut, she faced Lívia Renata Souza, replacing injured Cynthia Calvillo, on July 13, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd. She won by unanimous decision.

Fortino faced Tecia Torres on June 20, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Fortino was scheduled to face Jessica Penne on July 16, 2022, at UFC on ABC 3. However, Fortino withdrew in early June for unknown reasons and was replaced by Emily Ducote.

On October 8, 2024, it was reported that Fortino was removed from the UFC roster.

Personal life

Fortino's moniker "Tha Bull" or "The Bull" was coined by her grandfather when she was young as she used to running around with such attitude that her grandfather called her "El Torito", "The baby bull" in Spanish.

Brianna and her husband Lukas Fortino got married in October 2020, and she officially began using Fortino as her last name also in the UFC. The pair welcomed their first son Jackson in 2021.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Invicta Fighting Championships
  • Invicta FC Strawweight Champion (one time)

Mixed martial arts record

See also

• List of current Invicta FC fighters
• List of female mixed martial artists

References

1. ^ Mixed martial arts show results Date: June 6, 2020
2. "Brianna Van Buren | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
3. "Brianna Van Buren ("The Bull") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
4. Bitter, Shawn (June 11, 2019). "Welcome to the UFC: Brianna Van Buren". Cageside Press. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
5. ^ "YOUTH MMA: Van Buren notches first amateur win". Gilroy Dispatch. March 2, 2010.
6. "Fighters | San Jose | American Kickboxing Academy".
7. ^ Daniel Gonzalez (November 1, 2021), {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
8. ^ Mike Heck (December 2, 2021). "We Got Next | Brianna Van Buren, Chris Curtis & Kenny Cross" (Podcast).
9. "Local fight team, gym growing in size and stature". Gilroy Dispatch. July 3, 2012.
10. Simon, Zane (January 27, 2015). "Cyborg gets first title challenger for Invicta belt, as UFC negotiations continue". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
11. McCarter, Nathan. "Invicta FC 11 Cyborg vs. Tweet: Live Results, Play by Play and Highlights". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
12. "Invicta FC 33 Features Atomweight Title Rematch Between Jinh Yu Frey and Minna Grusander". InvictaFC. October 24, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
13. "Invicta FC 33 Weigh-in Results: Jamie Moyle Weighed 9 Pounds Over the Strawweight Limit". mmaweekly.com. December 14, 2018.
14. Bryan Tucker. "Invicta FC 33 Results: Frey vs. Grusander 2". mmafighting.com. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
15. ^ Sherdog.com. "Brianna Van Buren Taps Kailin Curran, Claims Vacant Invicta Strawweight Championship". Sherdog. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
16. Hiergesell, Dan (July 17, 2019). "Calvillo Out Of UFC Sacramento Due To Broken Foot". MMAmania.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
17. "UFC Sacramento: Brianna Van Buren wins UFC debut in war with Livia Renata Souza". FanSided. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
18. DNA, MMA. "Tecia Torres treft Brianna van Buren tijdens UFC Las Vegas op 20 juni aanstaande". Retrieved May 23, 2020.
19. Jay Anderson (June 21, 2020). "UFC on ESPN 11 Results: Tecia Torres' Striking Too Much for Brianna Van Buren". Cageside Press. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
20. "Jingliang Li faces Muslim Salikhov on July 16th". Asian MMA. May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
21. Nolan King (June 2, 2022). "Invicta FC champion Emily Ducote signs with UFC, fights Jessica Penne on Long Island". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
22. Behunin, Alexander (October 9, 2024). "Cut! UFC Parts Ways With Nine Fighters To Make Room For Contender Series Fighters". MMAmania.com. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
23. "Untameable: The Brianna Van Buren story". www.bjpenn.com. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
24. Sherdog.com. "Brianna". Sherdog. Retrieved November 18, 2019.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Brianna Fortino from Sherdog
• Brianna Fortino at UFC

• 1993 births
• Living people
• American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners
• American female mixed martial artists
• Strawweight mixed martial artists
• Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling
• Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters
• 21st-century American sportswomen