The first title fight on the UFC 297 card featured a women's bantamweight collision between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva.
Pennington and Silva had a little bit of beef going into this one. Silva insisted that Pennington is a boring fighter and puts fans to sleep. It was in response to Raquel taking exception to Silva saying no one wanted to see their title bout.
Going into the title shot, Pennington was riding a five-fight winning streak. She hadn't suffered a loss since early 2020.
As for Silva, she had gone 3-0, 1 NC in her last four fights prior to her championship opportunity. The no contest was initially a submission victory for Silva over former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm.
Pennington looked to blitz Silva early. Silva landed elbows on Pennington followed by a knee to the body. Pennington found herself on the mat. Silva moved toward the back of Raquel. Pennington managed to stand up near the fence with Silva backpacking her. Silva dragged Pennington back down near the end of round one.
Early in round two, Pennington looked to heed the advice of her corner and tried to keep things on the feet. Silva pushed her opponent to the fence in the clinch. Pennington reversed position, as her corner urged her to break free. Pennington looked to box out, but Silva eventually found her way back into a clinch.
A clean right hand followed by a jab was there for Raquel. Once again, the two were in the clinch, but Pennington did land an uppercut. Silva landed an uppercut of her own. Silva once again found the back of her opponent and went for a choke. Pennington was able to avoid danger and made it to round three.
Round three saw clinch action against the fence once again. Raquel had Silva's back against the fence. A hard elbow landed for Silva, followed by a knee to the body. Pennington had her own knees to the body. Some hard elbows connected for Silva, who went for a takedown, but Pennington wound up in top control. Silva looked quite tired. Boos rained down following the horn.
Pennington stepped on the gas in round four, sensing that her opponent emptied out her gas tank. The two traded position advantage, and referee Jerin Valel had a long leash, letting the grappling play out. Silva locked up a choke, but Pennington got out of it and was in top control.
Silva went for a spinning back fist, but nothing doing. Pennington continued pressuring with strikes and was in top control when her opponent went for a kneebar. Pennington secured an arm triangle, and Silva gave a thumbs up. The fight went the distance, and fans in attendance were none too pleased with the efforts of Pennington and Silva.
In the end, the judges scored the fight for Raquel Pennington. She is the new UFC women's bantamweight champion.
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