Raquel Pennington is gunning for that ‘Undisputed’ moniker next to her name.
The current bantamweight champion is set to get her first shot at defending her title against former champ Julianna Pena in a title fight slated for later this year, Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter reported on Thursday.
According to Bronsteter, Pennington said she is likely to return in October and expects Pena to be the opponent in a main card PPV event in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pena later confirmed to Bronsteter that the fight had been signed on her end.
Pennington, 35, has apparently always wanted to take on Pena since the two met on The Ultimate Fighter in 2013. “Rocky” has a 16-8 record in pro MMA and is on a six-fight win streak since 2020.
She took over the bantamweight belt after beating Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in Toronto. The belt had been vacated following the retirement of long-time champ Amanda Nunes in 2023.
Pena, 34, was the bantamweight champion before Nunes. She won the belt after beating the UFC superstar at UFC 269 in Dec. 2021. However, she lost the belt at UFC 277 in July 2022 after Nunes got her revenge.
“The Venezuelan Vixen” has a 10-5 record in pro-MMA and is currently ranked as the second-best bantamweight fighter and the sixth-best pound-for-pound fighter. She has not fought since losing to Nunes at 277 after their trilogy fight scheduled for June 2023 was cancelled.