The burden of being UFC champion is an immense one, and for [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag], it meant preparing for two opponents at UFC 307.
Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) is currently scheduled to put her women’s bantamweight title on the line for the first time when she meets Julianna Peña (10-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the co-main event of the Oct. 5 card, which takes place at Delta Center in Salt Lake City (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
Peña hasn’t fought in more than two years and has had four different fights canceled for various reasons since 2020. Pennington said she took that track record into account leading into UFC 307, and when Kayla Harrison, who fights on the same card against Ketlen Vieira, said she wanted to be the backup for the title fight, the champion thought it was best to get herself ready for all scenarios.
“Honestly, I prepared for this as both Julianna and Kayla,” Pennington told MMA Junkie on Friday. “Julianna does have a history of getting injured. I know that Kayla made the comment about wanting to be the backup fighter. This wasn’t just one fight camp that was like, ‘OK, here’s one person that we’re focusing on. I’ve broke down two athletes and prepared in two different directions.”
It’s Pennington’s hope and expectation that she will indeed be sharing the octagon with Peña at UFC 307. She has wanted this fight for more than a decade, since her and Peña were on the Season 17 cast of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series together in 2013.
Pennington, 36, said she is rather shocked her and Peña, 35, have never crossed paths over the years, but now it will happen on the biggest platform and with the greatest stakes possible attached. Pennington said she wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m not going to sit here and say I hate Julianna,” Pennington said. “I don’t hate anybody. I don’t have all these ill emotions towards her. Did she get under my skin on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’? Absolutely. On top of being taken out of your comfort zone, you’re living with somebody, but we have very, very, very different personality types. When I first went into ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ I didn’t know anybody. I remember Julianna, they were bullying her and I felt bad for her. We ended up on the same team and we were roommates, and it was like, ‘OK, cool. I’m going to befriend you.’ I quickly learned our different personalities and it was like, ‘Uh, OK.’
“It’s just been one of those things where on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ I felt like Dana (White) thought we were going to match up on the finale and she ended up winning the season and (I got injured). … It didn’t play out that way. I don’t know how we didn’t line up in the last 11 years. It’s a fight that I’ve asked for.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.