Tag: Raquel Pennington

Kayla Harrison suggests interim title fight vs. Julianna Peña if UFC champ Raquel Pennington injured

Kayla Harrison is ready to fight for a UFC title – even if it’s got an interim tag attached to it.

[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] is ready to fight for a UFC title – even if it’s got an interim tag attached to it.

Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) impressed in her octagon debut when she ran through former champion Holly Holm for a second-round submission Saturday at UFC 300.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka and former PFL champion said she’s heard rumblings that UFC bantamweight champ [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] is injured. So in the meantime, Harrison has a proposition: She believes [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) would make for a great interim title fight June 29 at UFC 303.

“I heard that ‘Rocky’s’ hurt all of the sudden, so if she can’t fight right now, I’m happy to fight whoever this summer for a title,” Harrison said on “The MMA Hour.” “Why not just an interim title? Then I’ll unify it. Then I’ll fight Amanda (Nunes). If it’s for a title, I will make myself available. I would love (UFC 303). F*ck it, my time is now. I like the sound of that (Harrison vs. Peña). There would be some good sh*t talking from me.”

According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Pennington shut down that idea instantly.

“Interim title??? She needs to calm down,” Pennington said. “I’ve already discussed a timeframe for a title defense later this year.”

Former double champ Amanda Nunes, who is currently retired, was surprised that ex-American Top Team training partner Harrison didn’t call her out. Harrison said she finds it pointless to go after someone who isn’t active and explains where things went south between Nunes and ATT.

“I think that Amanda’s worst enemy is her own mind,” Harrison said. “She got it in her head that I was coming for her. I think after she lost to Julianna, she thought that I was going to get in the cage that night and challenge her, which was not true, not the case, not even near true. She thought everyone on the team was against her.

“Again, not true, not the case. Actually everyone on the team was doing their best to keep us in separate organizations even though I wanted to go. I was like, ‘I’m out, let’s go.’ I think there was still 145. I was like, come on, let’s do this. I think it just left a bad taste in her own mind, this not true image of what was happening behind the scenes.”

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Kayla Harrison: If I was Raquel Pennington, ‘I’d be scared sh*tless’ about my UFC signing

Kayla Harrison says Raquel Pennington should fear her UFC arrival.

[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] says [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] should fear her UFC arrival.

UFC bantamweight champion Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) expects to make her first title defense against Julianna Peña, and would take umbrage with Harrison being fast tracked to a title shot.

Harrison (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes her octagon debut in a bantamweight bout against former champ Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas.

“For me, I think it’s Julianna,” Pennington told Low Kick MMA on who’s next. “Just from having to grind from the bottom up, never being handed anything, there’s a lot of women in this division who have been busting their ass for years upon years, and they’re wanting opportunities.

“I do not find it fair. I get the business aspect of it. But I do not find it fair when an athlete comes in and just because they have a big name, they get to skip the line. I’m not opposed to fighting anybody, like scared of anybody. I love the challenges out there.”

Harrison responded to Pennington, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL champion plans on making herself undeniable with a statement-making performance over Holm.

“I think that my record speaks for itself,” Harrison told MMA Junkie. “So, that’s kind of hard to argue with. I think that if I go out and make a statement, that’s gonna be hard to argue with. I don’t know Raquel’s record, but I’m assuming that there were losses mixed in, like she probably got close then lost.

“That’s her journey. My journey is my journey, and I plan on doing everything in my power to make it so that they want to give me the title shot. I would be saying that if I was Raquel, too. I’d be scared sh*tless.”

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Julianna Peña definitely interested in UFC fight with ‘big name’ Kayla Harrison down the line

Julianna Peña is laser focused on Raquel Pennington, but has Kayla Harrison in her sights.

[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] is laser focused on [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag], but has [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] in her sights.

Peña expects to be bantamweight champion Pennington’s first title defense, but a fight is yet to be booked. The other standout name that could be in the running is Harrison, who makes her octagon debut against Holly Holm April 13 at UFC 300.

But Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) questions if Harrison (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will in peak form, as she attempts to make 135 pounds for the first time in her career.

“Kayla Harrison is fighting a battle right now that she’s got to be able to contend with, and that’s making 135 pounds,” Peña told MMA on Sirius XM. “We know that there’s nobody in the 145-pound division. You can’t name 10 145ers. So first off, let’s just see if she can make it. Second off, let’s see how she performs – because her fights (have been) at 155. She’s already draining and cutting a ton of weight.

“When you cut that much and get down to 135, you’re a shell of yourself at what you were at 145 or even 155. Let’s see how she performs at 135, and let’s see her make that, and then we could talk. But as far as I’m concerned, she was getting a bunch of ‘gimme’ fights at PFL.”

Although Peña doesn’t think former champion Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) is the same fighter now that she’s 42, if Harrison can beat her, she will have Peña’s attention.

“Holly Holm will be a very big test for her, and if she can overcome Holly Holm, then we’ll see,” Peña said. “But absolutely: Kayla’s a big name. She talks a lot of crap, she’s a worthy adversary and that’s definitely a fight I want later on down the line. You bet you.”

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UFC champ Raquel Pennington would take umbrage with Kayla Harrison receiving title shot after one win

As far as Raquel Pennington is concerned, a title shot for Kayla Harrison if she’s victorious at UFC 300 would be unfair.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] should have to work her way up to the top.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and PFL champion Harrison (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes her octagon debut in a bantamweight bout against former champ Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas. Considering Harrison’s name and accolades, Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) won’t be surprised if she was declared No. 1 contender with a win over Holm.

Pennington wouldn’t agree but embraces any challenge.

“In my mind, it’s Julianna Peña,” Pennington told LowKick MMA of her first title defense. “That’s what me and my team are preparing for, and it makes sense. It’s tough because the UFC does business how they want to do business. Obviously, you have Kayla Harrison, who just signed to the UFC. They do have a habit of when someone has a big name, they like to fast-track them. So I wouldn’t be surprised after UFC 300 next month if Kayla wins, if a phone call is a lot different after that fight.

“But we’ll see. For me, I think it’s Julianna. Just from having to grind from the bottom up, never being handed anything, there’s a lot of women in this division who have been busting their ass for years upon years, and they’re wanting opportunities. I do not find it fair. I get the business aspect of it. But I do not find it fair when an athlete comes in and just because they have a big name, they get to skip the line. I’m not opposed to fighting anybody, like scared of anybody. I love the challenges out there.”

Pennington’s journey started on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2013. She worked her way to a title fight against then-champion Amanda Nunes in May 2018 but was stopped by fifth-round TKO. “Rocky” would then go 6-2 before earning a second shot – a vacant title fight vs. Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297. She won the fight by unanimous decision to become bantamweight champion.

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UFC champ Raquel Pennington brushes off Ryan Clark’s call to scrap her division: ‘You’re not living in our shoes’

Since Ryan Clark has no idea what it is to be a UFC fighter, Raquel Pennington couldn’t care less about his opinion.

[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] has fired back at former NFL star Ryan Clark for suggesting that the UFC should terminate her division.

Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) defeated Mayra Bueno Silva (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) by unanimous decision to capture the vacant women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 297 co-main event. Clark, who works as an ESPN NFL analyst but also dabbles in MMA with Daniel Cormier, was harsh in his reaction to Pennington’s title win, calling the fight awful. He then went on a rant explaining why the UFC should consider scratching the division as a whole.

“It looked like a fight between two people who got a game plan, and as they were walking to the octagon, they said, ‘F*ck the game plan, I’m going to do whatever the hell I want to do,'” Clark said on a recent episode of “DC & RC.” “Two people who knew good and dang well it’s no way they should be fighting for a championship. If that is what’s going to be the highest level of bantamweight division for the UFC, there should be a serious discussion of getting rid of it.”

Pennington responded to Clark’s criticism by simply stating that the former Super Bowl champion can’t relate.

“At the end of the day, I don’t care what people say. I’m not here for their expectations and to live up to that,” Pennington said on Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage.” “I’m here for me, conquering goals, achieving things for myself. Like I said, we’re fighting. Everything can be different. People can criticize, but it’s a lot of people who wouldn’t step in our shoes for 10 seconds. They have no clue what it’s like.”

Pennington was criticized for not pulling the trigger on a seemingly exhausted Bueno Silva. Currently on a six-fight winning streak, Pennington says she still has a lot more to give.

“I went out there, got the job done, but I have so much more to offer,” Pennington said. “I have a ton of experience here, I’ve been in multiple different fights, I have submission finishes, so there’s a lot more that’s coming. For everybody else who just wants to talk, keep sitting on your couch and talking and criticizing because you’re not living in our shoes.”

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Raquel Pennington expects Kayla Harrison to be exposed in UFC: ‘She hasn’t truly been challenged’

Raquel Pennington expects Kayla Harrison to have a rough debut vs. Holly Holm at UFC 300 and beyond.

[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] expects a rough UFC debut for [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag].

Two-time PFL lightweight champion Harrison (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes her bantamweight debut against former champion Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas.

Like many others, Pennington wonders how the first-time cut to 136 pounds will impact Harrison. But the reigning UFC bantamweight champion isn’t sure if Harrison will be able to hang with elite-level competition in the UFC.

“I was wondering if she was ever going to sign with the UFC,” Pennington said on Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage.” “There’s been a lot of talk throughout the years, but she’s been successful in PFL. My biggest question honestly is how is she going to make the weight? She’s a very dense chick. There’s no denying that.

“I feel like, as far as coming into the UFC, a lot of athletes haven’t truly been challenged, and I feel like she hasn’t truly been challenged in the PFL. To now come in and have this platform, that’s going to give her a run for her money for sure. She has a huge hype following her, but I think she’s going to be exposed a little bit. First and foremost, the hardest part of this is making the weight.”

Pennington, who’s lost to Holm twice, believes the former champion has lost a step. But if Holm can keep the fight with two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka Harrison standing, Pennington pictures a bad night for Harrison.

“I feel like Holly is at a point in her career where she’s older, and I don’t mean that in any bad way, but things get tough when you get older as an athlete,” Pennington said. “It takes a different toll on your body and stuff, and she’s been around for a very long time.

“I feel like her last few fights, she hasn’t had that ‘it’ anymore. She’s been battling different injuries and stuff, and it just feels like she’s on her way out. But I feel like if Holly actually brings back the Holly that first came into the UFC and strikes with Kayla, it’s not going to go Kayla’s direction at all.”

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Video: What are the expectations for Raquel Pennington as UFC champion?

Raquel Pennington made the most of her second chance at UFC gold. Is her title reign destined to be short lived?

Years after her first title shot, [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] finally claimed UFC gold this past Saturday at UFC 297 where she outworked Mayra Bueno Silva to win a lopsided unanimous decision and the vacant 135-pound title.

Pennington’s performance was a far cry from the only other time she fought for gold in May 2018, when she was ready to quit on the school during a beatdown against then-champ Amanda Nunes.

So what are the expectations for the 35-year-old Pennington now that she’s got a belt to defend? Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that question with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch their discussion in the video above, and check out this week’s episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Jan. 23: Dricus Du Plessis, Raquel Pennington take No. 1 spots

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 297 in Toronto.

The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2024 in Toronto produced a few moves in this week’s rankings update.

At UFC 297, two new champions were crowned at Scotiabank Arena, as Dricus Du Plessis and Raquel Pennington claimed gold.

In the main event, Du Plessis became the middleweight champion by defeating Sean Strickland in a close split decision. Entering the event as the No. 4 middleweight in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie divisional rankings, Du Plessis jumps up to No. 1 after winning the title. He also takes the No. 8 spot in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

In the co-feature, Pennington became the women’s bantamweight champion by winning a unanimous decision against Mayra Bueno Silva. Pennington climbs one spot to take No. 1 as the new champ. She also makes a move on the women’s P4P list, settling in at No. 7.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Daniel Cormier explains what was odd about Raquel Pennington’s UFC 297 title win over Mayra Bueno Silva

Daniel Cormier believes Raquel Pennington could have put Mayra Bueno Silva away at UFC 297.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] believes [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] could have put [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] away at UFC 297.

Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) defeated Bueno Silva (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) by unanimous decision to capture the vacant women’s bantamweight title in this past Saturday’s co-main event. Bueno Silva slowed down significantly throughout the fight, allowing Pennington to take top control on the ground, and Cormier thinks Pennington should have capitalized against an exhausted Bueno Silva.

“This fight was odd because it felt like Raquel could finish Mayra Bueno Silva,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “It felt like if she broke away from her and allowed for her or made her stand and trade with her, she could finish her.

“But, as she said inside the octagon, she was so close that she could feel it, that it was win at all costs and I mean, I can’t blame her. I can’t blame her. I know how taxing and how mentally challenging it is to try and become a UFC champion.”

Bueno Silva has far fewer UFC fights than Pennington, and Cormier said that was evident in her performance.

“Mayra Bueno Silva’s inexperience really showed in that fight,” Cormier said. “She was very tired very early. She expended way too much energy not only in the fight but in the build to the fight, because her expectation of the way it was supposed to play out was a tad bit unrealistic, and I think very quickly she was reminded that she was now fighting at a level that she had not competed at prior.”

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Julianna Peña rips Raquel Pennington ‘snooze fest’ UFC 297 title win, vows to retire new champ

Julianna Peña was unsurprisingly critical of Raquel Pennington’s UFC 297 title win and promises the new champ’s reign will be “short lived.”

[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] was not entertained by [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]’s performance in Saturday’s UFC 297 vacant women’s bantamweight title win over Mayra Bueno Silva.

“It was a snooze fest,” Peña said on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I was not impressed. I was not impressed with their performances, as my friend Georges St-Pierre likes to say. … It was all around just a complete disappointment, but it doesn’t matter because the breaking news is we will be fighting for the real belt this summer, coming at you to a theatre near you.”

Peña (11-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) claims she was originally offered to be part of the vacant 135-pound championship bout after Amanda Nunes retired from MMA in June. Injury prevented her from accepting, so she had to be a witness as Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) outlasted Bueno Silva over the course of five rounds for a unanimous decision victory at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

It didn’t take long after Pennington had the belt wrapped around her waist to call for a matchup with Peña, which she’s wanted for some time.

“That relationship just goes back to 2013 when we were both back in ‘The Ultimate Fighter,'” Pennington said at the UFC 297 post-fight news conference. “Let’s just say I learned Julianna’s personality then, and it’s kind of one of those where you stay your way, and I’ll stay mine, but you get under my damn skin. I’ve been waiting for that fight for 13 years – whether the title is on the line or not.”

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Peña, 34, heard the comments from Pennington, 35, and she was amused while detailing the genesis of some of the issues between them.

“It just cracks because to me, it’s like, you sound delusional,” Peña said. “First off I’ve got to say I love me, some me. I’m never going to agree with that when she says that, ‘You go your way and I go mine.’ Yes, you’re right. I go my way (up) and you go yours (down). And the way that I’m going is winning ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and winning the championship.

“When we were living inside the house, she was saying up so late with Shayna Baszler until three, four o’clock in the morning and in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ house you get to train twice a day with the best people in the world. Every single day you get to train two times inside the gym. Well she was staying up so late, and she was sleeping above me in the bunk bed, that she would miss her first practice and she would never come to first practice. So I’m out here grinding two times a day, making the most out of my opportunities so that I can become ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ while she’s sleeping. We’re going opposite ways all right. I’m grinding and coming up and you’re not doing anything, just content with sleeping and being a being a bump on the log. It’s not my fault that you’ve been waiting 10 years to get this fight.”

Peña said she’s already started to engage with the UFC brass about a title showdown with Pennington, and is confident it will come to fruition for June or July. “The Venezuelan Vixen” said she hopes Pennington enjoys her time with the belt until then, because her days on top are numbered.

“I really am happy for her and her career and everything like that. But it’s going to be short-lived. It’s not going to be being this champion for seven years. That’s not the case, unfortunately. She’s already talking about retiring and going into her retirement being a family man. Let me do the honors and kick you into retirement, Raquel.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.