Raquel Pennington built her reputation on grit, craft and unshakeable determination.
The well-traveled 33-year-old will tackle Aspen Ladd in a sneaky showdown between Top 10 contenders in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division atop the UFC 273 undercard on Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Pennington enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. She has not taken a step back since she lost a unanimous decision to Holly Holm in their UFC 246 rematch more than two years ago.
In advance of Pennington’s forthcoming battle with Ladd at 135 pounds, here are five things you might not know about her:
1. Perseverance paved her way.
Pennington suffered a broken back in a snowboarding accident during her senior at Harrison High School in Colorado Springs. She took up mixed martial arts training at the age of 19 as a means to stay active.
2. She was the B-side at the starting line.
“Rocky” made her professional MMA debut opposite Kim Couture—the ex-wife of UFC hall of famer Randy Couture—at a Medieval Fight Productions event on March 3, 2012 in Casper, Wyoming. Pennington put away Couture with knees to the body in the second round.
3. Her reality check went well.
Pennington was a semifinalist on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2013. She submitted Tony Evinger with a second-round guillotine choke to advance to the quarterfinals, then took a unanimous decision from Jessamyn Duke before being outpointed by Jessica Rakoczy in their three-round semifinal.
4. She has a clear mode of operation on the mat.
All four of Pennington’s submission wins have involved the neck. She dispatched Raquel Canuto with a guillotine choke in the first round of their Sept. 8, 2012 encounter under the Destiny MMA banner, put Ashlee Evans-Smith to sleep with a bulldog choke in the first round at UFC 181 on Dec. 6, 2014, subdued Jessica Andrade with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their Sept. 5, 2015 pairing at UFC 191 and dismissed Macy Chiasson with a guillotine choke in the second round at UFC Fight Night 199 on Dec. 18, 2021.
5. Her fingerprints are easy to identify.
Pennington holds the UFC women’s bantamweight records for appearances (14), fight time (3:22:33) and total strikes landed (1,070). She also ranks second all-time in wins (nine), control time (50:11), significant strikes landed (727) and submission attempts (nine).
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