The next UFC pay-per-view is closing in, and it’s a card that will heavily impact the landscape of the women’s bantamweight division.
UFC 307, which goes down Oct. 5 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, hosts two key female bouts at 135 pounds: a women’s championship bout between [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Julianna Pena[/autotag], and a top contender contest pitting [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] against [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag].
Ahead of the event, rising women’s bantamweight [autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag] gave her picks when speaking with MMA Junkie. Perez (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who returns this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 243 against Darya Zheleznyakova (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), sees the belt staying in the hands of the champion.
“Raquel Pennington is going to keep her title that night,” Perez said in Spanish. “Julianna Peña has been very inactive, and I just don’t think she has the resources to surprise that night.”
The 35-year-old Pennington enters UFC 307 on a six-fight winning streak. She won the vacant title by defeating Mayra Bueno Silva in January. Meanwhile, Peña hasn’t fought since losing the belt in the rematch with Amanda Nunes back in July 2022.
As far as the other bout, Perez expects Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) to keep her undefeated UFC record. She respects the body of work that Vieira (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has built, but doesn’t think she’ll be able to hold off the former PFL champion.
“Kayla Harrison will be able to take her down, and she’s going to win the fight there,” Perez said. “She’s going to control her. I don’t think she’ll get the finish, but maybe she will. That’s not totally unexpected, but I don’t think she’ll get the finish. I’m picking Kayla to win. I don’t think Ketlen has the gas tank to deal with her.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.