It was a five-round title bout that was far from thrilling and produced a disputed decision. But, in the end, Julianna Pena put her name in the history books as the second two-time women’s bantamweight champion in UFC history.
Pena did just enough despite being dropped late to outpoint defending champion Raquel Pennington on Saturday via split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307. Pena (12-5) took home judges’ scores of 48-47 on two cards while the third judge scored it the same for Pennington (16-9) inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The fight was Pena’s first in more than two years since she lost a wide decision to Amanda Nunes in their title rematch. The 35-year-old Pena used timely takedowns and a stiff jab to score her first win since submitting Nunes via monster upset in their first fight back in 2021.
“I heard these judges are doing some crazy stuff tonight,” Pena said. “You can never leave it in the judges’ hands and it’s unfortunate that it went to a decision but I’m happy I got the win. Raquel is a very tough opponent and I’m happy that we can finally put [disagreements between them] to bed.”
Pennington, 36, was a teammate of Pena some 11 years ago on the 18th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” yet the two never crossed paths until now as professionals. The trash talk between them in the fight’s build up failed to create an electric start as they fought on even terms in a largely pedestrian opening round that ultimately decided the fight as two judges scored it for Pena despite an uppercut from Pennington proving to be the most damaging strike of the frame.
Pena used a steady jab and right cross to create a hematoma on the forehead of Pennington in Round 2 after the crowd booed the lack of action. Pena also took Pennington down late in Round 3 and landed big strikes from behind after taking her back in search of a choke.
Pennington responded to her corner’s urging for more offense in Round 4 and dropped Pena with a hard right hand.
“There was just a loss of focus,” Pena said, about the knockdown. “I got dropped. You unfocus for one second and it’s enough to get dropped. You have to focus for the entire time.”
Pennington went on to briefly wobble Pena with a right hand in Round 5 as the two fighters exchanged big punches as Pena’s cardio appeared to be fading.
“I felt like I won that fight,” Pennington said. “The first round, she took me down and she had another takedown. But other than that, I felt like I was landing the better strikes and doing what I needed to do and dropping her.
“This has been a familiar place for me. It’s my fault for letting it go to the judges. It’s back to the drawing board and I will only get better from here. Good luck to Julianna but too bad we are going to have to hear her yap from here on out.”
After the fight, UFC announcer Joe Rogan teed Pena up to comment on her likely next opponent, Kayla Harrison, who won a unanimous decision over Ketlen Vieira earlier in the night. Pena, however, had other plans.
“What I really like is for Amanda Nunes to quit ducking and come back to this Octagon to settle it,” Pena said. “We are 1-1 and that would be one of the biggest fights in the bantamweight division the sport has ever seen. I do not believe that she is done being retired. I want to see her back in the Octagon so we can settle the score once and for all.”
Nunes, 36, retired in 2023 after defeating Pena but has teased recent interest in a potential comeback.
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