Raquel Pennington and Juliana Pena at UFC 307 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Dylan Napoleone/Cageside Press
In the co-main event of UFC 307, Raquel Pennington was looking to defend her women’s bantamweight championship for the first time against former champion Julianna Pena.
It was a grudge match of sorts, but I felt it was one-sided. The two were roommates on “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” which Pena won. However, although both men admitted that they disliked their opponent, Pena appeared to be the one who spoke better prior to the match.
Pena fired a few jabs to start the first title fight of the night, but Pennington threw a leg kick that missed the mark. There was enough feel in the opening round, but much was lacking in terms of extra time, leg kicks, and wrestling.
After a slow-paced, close round, the pair tried to get a little busier in the second round. Pena found success with right hands, and Pennington tried to combine attacks. The first takedown arrived less than two minutes later, and challenger Pena landed it. From the throw, she settled into side control, preventing Pennington from raising her legs and transitioning to mount. Still, with half a round left, there was plenty of time left for Pena to work. Pennington would eventually get back to her feet, but the problem was that she was carrying Pena like a backpack. Pennington tried to dump her and Pena began to slide, but the champion was expending so much energy trying to free himself. She wasn’t at full strength, but the round ended.
In Round 3, Pena made an early connection. She continued to land the jab and the accuracy of her strikes improved a bit. Her champion also worked the jab and doubled up. Primarily, “Rocky” worked on boxing, although she occasionally mixed in kicks to the body as well. However, Pena scored another important takedown with just over two minutes remaining. In close and close rounds, the possibility of a takedown loomed large, even though Pena didn’t get much done at first. A moment later, Pena reversed the lead on a scramble. Pennington reverses and threatens a brief, but Pena secures a body triangle. She went for a rear naked choke, but the champion fought with hands.
Heading into Round 4, Juliana Pena was definitely on the upswing, but she still wasn’t having an explosive lopsided round. However, Pennington tried to change that, starting the first round of the championship with a head kick. Pena survived, but the champion at least let her know she wasn’t going down quietly. At least Pena proved to be very durable, and the kick landed flush, making it one of the best moments of the fight so far. Later in the round, Pennington emphasized those words and dropped Pena with a punch!
The face of the battle suddenly changed and it became 10-8. Pennington also had a chance to finish, but she didn’t give up and jumped on Pena. Pennington was briefly guillotined, but then Pena managed to be released. They reset with a minute left and Pena didn’t get too nervous and raised his hand. Meanwhile, the champion had a nosebleed, but it was nothing compared to the damage Pena absorbed.
Raquel Pennington returned to the driver’s seat for the fifth and final round. Perhaps the match would have been a tie, or if the judges had been more generous, Pennington could have led 10-8 in the fourth. However, this is a fairly large case. Pennington continued to practice boxing, but Pena seemed to take a step back. She managed to close the distance, but Pennington shoved her. The champion then turned around for another clinch and pinned Pena against the fence. She then stepped back and made more moves, but Pena responded with a right. After that, Pennington won, but it didn’t last. He returned to the center and rocked Pena with a right hand.
The champion appeared late in the fight with 90 seconds remaining. Pennington incited a knockout blow. She was loading her luggage. With a minute left, it looked like Pena needed a Hail Mary. She couldn’t find it and they fought until the final horn, with Pennington seemingly doing enough to retain her title. Nevertheless, the night took another surprising turn as two of the three judges awarded the win to Julianna Pena.
Official result: Juliana Pena def. Raquel Pennington (split decision) (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
