Latest news with #JuliannaPeña
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Victor Ciardelli and Rate Introduce ‘Train Like a Champ,' a Wellness Series Inspired by Champions and Built for Life's Biggest Goals
The new content series in the Rate App brings together home, fitness, and financial well-being, starting with exclusive programs from champions like Julianna Peña and Jameis Winston CHICAGO, July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rate, a leading fintech company, today announced the launch of Train Like a Champ, a new in-app wellness initiative featuring professional athletes to inspire users to tackle life's most significant milestones with the same confidence, discipline, and resilience found in professional sports. This campaign marks the next step in Rate's evolution, expanding beyond home lending into personal and financial wellness to better support its community's journey to a better life. Available exclusively in the Rate App, Train Like a Champ features guided video content from athletes such as UFC champion Julianna Peña, NFL quarterback Jameis Winston, and, coming soon, pickleball pro Grayson Goldin. Topics include strength training, mindfulness, goal-setting, and sleep routines. Each collection is designed to help users develop habits that support not only physical and mental health but also long-term goals, such as financial stability and homeownership. 'Buying a home is one of the biggest goals in a person's life, and it takes more than just financial readiness. It takes mental focus, emotional resilience, and a clear sense of purpose. That's what Train Like a Champ delivers: the same mindset and discipline professional athletes use to succeed at the highest level,' said Victor Ciardelli, CEO of Rate. 'For us, this is personal. It's about helping people get to a better place physically, financially, and emotionally, so they can live their best life.' With a deep focus on all things wellness, Train Like a Champ offers a unique, holistic approach that connects everyday well-being with the broader life goals that matter most. Each athlete's series is structured like a mini-masterclass, combining personal stories with guided routines to build lasting habits. The content is free and available only inside the Rate App. To celebrate the launch, the first 100 users who download the app through select athlete referral links will be eligible for exclusive giveaways, including Rate merchandise and signed memorabilia. Recent survey data from Rate shows: 78% of homebuyers describe the homebuying process as overwhelming. 64% feel unprepared to manage its complexities. 66% report losing sleep due to homebuying stress. Train Like a Champ was created in direct response to these insights, offering credible coaching and guidance to help users navigate life's challenges, reduce stress, and live happier, more productive lives. Content highlights include: Julianna Peña: Mental preparation, breathwork, and power routines Jameis Winston: Endurance, strength training, agility, and gratitude (Coming soon) Grayson Goldin: Performance planning and his quest to break the world record for fastest pickleball serve All athlete content will be featured in the Train Like a Champ hub inside the Rate app. New videos, tips, and behind-the-scenes reels will continue to launch throughout the summer and fall 2025. To download the Rate app, visit About RateRate Companies is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, Rate has over 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than 2 million homeowners with home purchase loans, refinances, and home equity loans. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates, and delivering unparalleled customer service. Recent honors and awards include: a Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 by Fortune; Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for First-Time Homebuyers by Forbes; a Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for FHA Loans, Home Equity Loans, and Lower Credit Scores by NerdWallet; Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for Digital Experience and Down Payment Assistance by Motley Fool; Chicago Agent Magazine's Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years. Visit for more information. Media Contactpress@ in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
24-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Victor Ciardelli and Rate Introduce ‘Train Like a Champ,' a Wellness Series Inspired by Champions and Built for Life's Biggest Goals
CHICAGO, July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rate, a leading fintech company, today announced the launch of Train Like a Champ, a new in-app wellness initiative featuring professional athletes to inspire users to tackle life's most significant milestones with the same confidence, discipline, and resilience found in professional sports. This campaign marks the next step in Rate's evolution, expanding beyond home lending into personal and financial wellness to better support its community's journey to a better life. Available exclusively in the Rate App, Train Like a Champ features guided video content from athletes such as UFC champion Julianna Peña, NFL quarterback Jameis Winston, and, coming soon, pickleball pro Grayson Goldin. Topics include strength training, mindfulness, goal-setting, and sleep routines. Each collection is designed to help users develop habits that support not only physical and mental health but also long-term goals, such as financial stability and homeownership. 'Buying a home is one of the biggest goals in a person's life, and it takes more than just financial readiness. It takes mental focus, emotional resilience, and a clear sense of purpose. That's what Train Like a Champ delivers: the same mindset and discipline professional athletes use to succeed at the highest level,' said Victor Ciardelli, CEO of Rate. 'For us, this is personal. It's about helping people get to a better place physically, financially, and emotionally, so they can live their best life.' With a deep focus on all things wellness, Train Like a Champ offers a unique, holistic approach that connects everyday well-being with the broader life goals that matter most. Each athlete's series is structured like a mini-masterclass, combining personal stories with guided routines to build lasting habits. The content is free and available only inside the Rate App. To celebrate the launch, the first 100 users who download the app through select athlete referral links will be eligible for exclusive giveaways, including Rate merchandise and signed memorabilia. Recent survey data from Rate shows: Train Like a Champ was created in direct response to these insights, offering credible coaching and guidance to help users navigate life's challenges, reduce stress, and live happier, more productive lives. Content highlights include: All athlete content will be featured in the Train Like a Champ hub inside the Rate app. New videos, tips, and behind-the-scenes reels will continue to launch throughout the summer and fall 2025. To download the Rate app, visit About Rate Rate Companies is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, Rate has over 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than 2 million homeowners with home purchase loans, refinances, and home equity loans. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates, and delivering unparalleled customer service. Recent honors and awards include: a Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 by Fortune; Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for First-Time Homebuyers by Forbes; a Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for FHA Loans, Home Equity Loans, and Lower Credit Scores by NerdWallet; Best Mortgage Lender of 2025 for Digital Experience and Down Payment Assistance by Motley Fool; Chicago Agent Magazine's Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years. Visit for more information. Media Contact [email protected]
USA Today
18-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Julianna Peña fought Kayla Harrison at UFC 316 with 'pretty severe handicap'
Julianna Peña fought Kayla Harrison at UFC 316 with 'pretty severe handicap' According to Julianna Peña, she was compromised while fighting Kayla Harrison at UFC 316. Peña (13-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) lost her bantamweight title to Harrison in the UFC 316 co-main event earlier this month after being taken down and submitted in the second round. In an emotional interview, Peña discussed her struggles in fight camp, which almost had her contemplating pulling out. "I was plagued with several injuries leading up to that fight," Peña said Tuesday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "It was not a good camp for me in that sense because I knew that I was going into the fight with a pretty severe handicap. It crossed my mind (to pull out), but it was not bad enough to the point where I would have to not fight because I knew I was going to be able to push through. "But it's a funny thing that my coaches probably didn't explain the severity of the situation to me, otherwise I would have thought more heavily on not competing. No, I don't regret competing. I put in too much time. I've taken away too much time from other people, from my daughter, from my coaches, and from their families. So I don't regret competing. I just wish I could have competed under better circumstances." Peña opened up on the extent of her injuries. "About the second week of May, I broke my thumb on my training partner, and it was swollen," Peña said. "It looked like someone hit me in the hand with a hammer, and it was really difficult to grip. It still is right now very difficult to grip and to have grip strength. But then the 29th of May, I took a really bad fall in the octagon, and I tore my elbow and broke off a ton of bone chips so that I wasn't able to straighten my arm or bend my arm fully. I worked on that for a few days before I left to fight week, but everyday it was just worse and worse and worse. "It looked like someone whacked me in the back of the elbow with a baseball bat. It was just so swollen, and the MRI, the x-rays showed a tear and a lot of bone chips in the back of that. So going into a fight 10 days out after having a tear like that and all those bone chips, it's just excruciating, and it's very painful. It's hard to throw a punch, it's hard to extend, it's hard to grip, it's hard to bend. It's just all-around very painful. I'm having surgery for that in July, and I'm going to clean that up."
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Julianna Peña 'plagued' by injuries for Kayla Harrison fight, went in with a 'severe handicap'
Julianna Peña has fallen from the UFC women's bantamweight throne for a second time. UFC 316 was a rough night at the office for Peña, who suffered a second-round kimura loss to Kayla Harrison. The bout was Peña's second scheduled title defense of her UFC career, kicking off her second title reign after she previously held the belt from December 2021 to July 2022. Advertisement Speaking publicly for the first time since her loss, Peña revealed on Tuesday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" that she was far from her best self heading into the highly anticipated clash. "I've been doing this since 2008. I think I have dislocated, broken and torn every ligament in my body," Peña said. "I was plagued with several injuries leading up to that fight, and it was not a good camp for me in that sense because I knew I was going into the fight with a pretty severe handicap. "It crossed my mind [not to fight] but it wasn't bad enough to the point where I would have to not fight because I knew I was going to be able to push through, but I think it's a funny thing that my coaches probably didn't explain the severity of the situation to me. Otherwise, I probably would have thought more heavily on not competing." According to Peña, her injuries occurred late in her fight camp, starting in the second week of May when she broke her thumb "on a training partner." The thumb was so swollen that it made gripping difficult, she said, which she is still struggling with after the fight. After that, Peña claimed that toward the end of the month, she took a hard fall in the cage that resulted in a tear in her elbow and broke off several bone chips. The injury prevented her from fully extending her arm, she said, but she did her best to work on the hindrances before she left for fight week. Advertisement Peña, 35, said she's undergoing surgery on her elbow in July, along with another surgery she didn't reveal. But regardless of all the damage sustained, there aren't any regrets in toughing it out to face Harrison. "I don't regret competing," Peña said. "I put in too much time. I've taken away too much time from other people. From my daughter, from my coaches, from their families. So I don't regret competing, no. I just wish that I could have competed under better circumstances. "It doesn't matter because you're going to get locked inside that Octagon anyway. Knowing that I was going into the fight with that big of a handicap definitely sucked, but then lo and behold, that's actually the same arm that she isolated and was able to kimura, so I had no strength to be able to fight that — then hot-dog it, [the fight-ending submission happened] with five seconds left in the round. It's humiliating, it's embarrassing and it sucks. Oh well. Live to fight another day." Advertisement With the injuries piling up and the accomplishments already attached to her name, it begs the question of how much longer Peña wants to fight. After the loss, she indicated she hopes to jump immediately back into a title fight and challenge the winner of an expected Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes superfight. Peña expects her recovery timetable from the upcoming surgeries to be relatively short — around six months. After that, she'll see where she's at mentally. "I don't want to do anything else," Pena said. "Fighting has been so much a part of my life that it's been a week and a half and I'm sitting here like, 'What am I supposed to do now with the rest of my time?' Obviously I'm going to Disney World, I'm going on a vacation. So that's definitely one thing, but after that, I have a lot of things to consider, and they will all come after my surgery and my healing stage. Advertisement "I've proven that you can tear four out of five ligaments in your knee and still win and compete at the highest level. I've proven that I can tear my other knee and still come back and compete at the highest level. I've proven that I can dislocate my elbows and still come back at the highest level. So I've broken it all, I've torn it all. There's really not anything I think I couldn't come back from. This is just a part of the game. This is from years of wear and tear on my body, and I'll be able to come back and feel better — which is an exciting thing, because if I'm fighting with two arms, you girls better watch out." As soon as Peña vs. Harrison concluded, the table was set for Nunes' return. If Peña does get her wish once the dust is settled again at 135 pounds, she'd ideally prefer a trilogy fight against Nunes. Regarding who she thinks wins the matchup, she thinks her former rival still has enough in the tank to get it done. "Amanda and I were 1-1, and I still feel like there's some unfinished business there," Peña said. "Kayla, I would love to compete against [her] again with a camp where I'm not going in there like a bag of bones, trying to put them together with duct tape. So that would be best-case scenario, but I'll definitely be there cageside, watching them do their thing when they get ready to go, for sure. I'm curious. "I think that [Nunes] probably more than likely will [win], but I really don't care. I'm just there to eat my popcorn and watch the show."
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Julianna Peña, Rose Namajunas, Andrei Arlovski, Phil Rowe, JunYong Park and more
Julianna Peña returns for her first interview since UFC 316. Ariel Helwani and the Boys In The Back go live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time for Tuesday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show." The full rundown for Tuesday's show is below. 1 p.m. ET: Phil Rowe joins following his UFC Atlanta knockout of Ange Loosa. Advertisement 1:30 p.m. ET: "The Iron Turtle" JunYong Park previews his UFC Baku fight against Ismail Naurdiev. 2 p.m. ET: UFC legend Andrei Arlovski stops by the show. 2:30 p.m. ET: Julianna Peña returns following her UFC 316 title showdown with Kayla Harrison. 3 p.m. ET: Rose Namajunas looks back at her big UFC Atlanta win over Miranda Maverick. Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page. To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
