A rematch between Raquel
Pennington and Irene
Aldana is expected to serve as the main event for UFC
on ESPN 43.
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The bantamweight bout, which is expected to be finalized soon, was
recently confirmed by
ESPN Deportes following an initial report from MMA journalist
James Lynch on YouTube. UFC on
ESPN 43 takes place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas,
on March 25 and also includes a 135-pound showdown between Holly Holm
and Yana
Kunitskaya. Pennington and Aldana initially squared off at UFC
on ESPN 4 in July 2019, with Pennington prevailing via split
decision.
Pennington is currently on a five-bout winning streak in UFC
competition. The former bantamweight title challenger was
successful in her first venture of 2023, as she garnered a split
verdict against Ketlen
Vieira at UFC Fight Night 217 on Jan. 14. Her current run also
includes victories over the likes of Aspen Ladd,
Macy
Chiasson, Pannie
Kianzad and Marion
Reneau.
Aldana, meanwhile, has been victorious in four of her last five
Octagon appearances. The Lobo Gym MMA representative has earned
finishes in three of those bouts, scoring KO/TKO wins over
Chiasson, Kunitskaya and Vieira. Aldana had recently been linked to
a matchup with reigning two-division champion Amanda
Nunes, but the Mexican fighter told ESPN Deportes that she was
never formally offered the bout.