The bantamweight title is on the line in May! @Amanda_Leoa takes on @RockyPMMA in the main event at #UFC224 in Rio! pic.twitter.com/yB8Gu4BEzJ
— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2018
Despite Dana White all but confirming a super fight between Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg, that bout, for now, will have to wait after the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced that Nunes will instead defend her bantamweight belt against No. 8 ranked Raquel Pennington.
Pennington (9-5) has slowly worked her way up the bantamweight rankings and is currently on a four-fight winning streak. She has notable wins against Miesha Tate and Jessica Andrade. Pennington hasn’t fought since November 2016 at UFC 205, where she earned a unanimous decision victory against Tate.
Nunes (15-4) has won six fights in a row and will return to her homeland of Brazil to fight for the first time since 2015. Nunes is coming off a split decision nod over Valentina Shevchenko in her second title defense at UFC 215.