Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC 307, the women’s bantamweight title is on the line. The champion Raquel Pennington (16-8) looks to make her first successful title defense as she takes on former champion Julianna Pena (10-5).
For Pena, this is her first fight in more than two years. The last time we saw her was in the Amanda Nunes rematch where she was completely dominated after pulling off arguably the biggest upset in UFC history in their first fight. Pena and Nunes were supposed to have a trilogy bout, but injuries have kept Pena out of action.
While Pena has been out, Nunes would go on to retire and a new champion was crowned. That new champion is Raquel Pennington. Pennington’s story is quite remarkable. After being on The Ultimate Fighter with Julianna Pena, Pennington started 2-2 inside the octagon. A four-fight win streak led her to her first title opportunity against Amanda Nunes where she lost by fifth round TKO.
Starting with that fight, Pennington went just 1-3 in her next four fights. However, she bounced back and won five fights in a row to become number one contender. She faced Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant title at UFC 297 in January and won a decision to become champion. Now, she’ll look to defend against Pena in a fight that’s more than a decade in the making.
UFC 307 Prediction
I’m going to get this out of the way because it’s going to sound like I’m a hater. I’m not someone who is blown away by the skills of Julianna Pena. I think she is tough as hell and that is her biggest strength. Her striking isn’t that great, but with her pressure it can be effective.
Her grappling is good, but it’s nothing that’s insanely impressive. I mean, she was submitted by striker Germaine de Randamie back in 2020. I say that because a lot of casuals remember the Nunes upset and think that Pena is going to run through Pennington at UFC 307 and I just don’t see it.
I really like Pennington’s boxing and clean striking technique. I also love her strength in the clinch and I don’t think Pena is going to be able to bully her in the grappling exchanges. If anything, I think it’ll be Pennington who’ll be able to push Pena against the fence throughout the fight.
I like Raquel Pennington here and I agree with the odds makers who have made her the betting favorite at UFC 307.
Prediction: Raquel Pennington by Decision