The finish line could be in sight for 18-time UFC veteran Raquel Pennington .
But first, she has a couple more goals to accomplish.
Pennington captured the vacant women’s bantamweight title with a clear-cut unanimous decision victory over Mayra Bueno Silva in the UFC 297 co-main at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday night. Shortly after that victory, she set her sights on a matchup with Julianna Pena, who was unable to compete for the vacant belt on Saturday due to injury.
For Pennington, a showdown with Pena carries a little extra meaning.
“That’s the fight that makes sense. I honestly thought that, for the world title, it would be me and Julianna, but she’s still injured,” Pennington said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
“That relationship goes back to 2013 when we were both on ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ Let’s just say I learned Julianna’s personality then. It’s kind of one of those ones where you’re your own person, and you stay your way, I’ll stay mine, but you get under my skin. I’ve been waiting for that fight for 13 years, whether the title is on the line or not.”
Regardless of what the future holds, it appears that Pennington doesn’t plan on overstaying her welcome in the sport. “Rocky” has won six straight fights, and if all goes as planned, she’ll add a couple more to that streak. However, don’t expect her career to extend much beyond that.
“There’s talent in this division. Everyone is a challenge and people are constantly evolving and growing. I do want to stay active, and I am getting older and stuff too,” Pennington said. “We have our family now, and we want to continue building on that. It’s just trying to find balance on everything. I would like to defend the title a couple of times and then that’s a wrap for me.”
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