Raquel Pennington Told To Take A Page Out Of Cain Velasquez's Playbook In Order To Win UFC 297 Title Fight Against Mayra Bueno Silva

Former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson recently suggested an interesting strategy for Raquel Pennington. 

At UFC 297, Pennington will collide with Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship. This will mark Pennington's second crack at the 135lbs gold, having fallen to then-champ Amanda Nunes via fifth-round TKO back at UFC 224. 

At 35 years old, and sporting a 15-8 record, some are suggesting this could mark Pennington's last chance at finally reaching the pinnacle of the women's bantamweight division. 

"Be Grimy And Dirty" - Josh Thomson

During a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, Thomson suggested a pressure-heavy strategy for Pennington. 

'The Punk' cited the manner in which Cain Velasquez ruthlessly smothered and pressured Junior dos Santos during their second and third fights as an example. In following Velasquez's approach, Thomson believes Pennington could essentially bully Bueno Silva and nullify much of her stand-up offense. 

"I think that Raquel's gonna- I think if she can bully her around, kind of try to put her in her place, and, like, dictate where this fight goes, press her to the fence," Thomson said. "Be grimy and dirty and make her understand, make Bueno Silva understand 'This is not a normal fight, I'm not gonna let you stand on the outside, pick me apart, I'm not gonna let you try to clinch me when you want, I'm not gonna let you do those things. I'm gonna grind on you, I'm gonna hang on you, I'm gonna do what Cain Velasquez did... to dos Santos.'"