The finish line could be in sight for 18-time
UFC veteran Raquel
Pennington.
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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.”