Athletes
Raquel Pennington: “It’s Just Time”
“Rocky” Gets Her Second Shot At UFC Gold And Believes This Time Around She’ll Be Leaving With A Belt In Hand
When Raquel Pennington looks back at the “Rocky” that faced Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title at UFC 224, so much has changed.
“I am nowhere near the person or the athlete I was five years ago,” Pennington said. “Five years ago, it seems so long ago and for a long time I held on to the emotions when it came to that. But then I realized, that’s the past, that wasn’t my journey.”
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Since then, Pennington has gone 6-2 inside the Octagon, setting her up for another shot at the bantamweight title. The title has been vacant since last June, when Nunes, the bantamweight and featherweight champion, retired. A few weeks before Nunes was supposed to fight, Pennington was scheduled to face Irene Aldana, but an injury to Nunes’ original opponent, Julianna Peña forced a last-minute swap, meaning Aldana would step in to fight for the belt.
There’s no doubt the cancellation of her main event against Aldana left a sour taste in Pennington’s mouth, especially when it means fighting for a title. But that is just another aspect to show how much “Rocky” has grown as a person.
“When you look at the professional aspect of everything, all of the different changes, that has been frustrating, but overall, I’ve just learned to embrace the journey. You can’t control those things, so it is what it is. I’m here now and I’m excited… I feel like I’ve truly recharged as a person, I became a mom, and my motivation has absolutely changed. I feel back in love with everything, I’ve been having fun with training. I think that plays for a dangerous part in all this.”
I spoke to Pennington during International Fight Week last July and she told me she wanted her next fight to be for the title. That happened. However, the opponent she had in mind wasn’t exactly Mayra Bueno Silva, who she will be facing at UFC 297 in Toronto this weekend.
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“I thought it would be against Julianna Peña, but, from what I hear, she is still injured,” Pennington said. “At the end of the day, another opponent, another challenge. I am a person who thrives on challenges, so that’s exciting. I feel like, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. My stars have aligned, I’m here now and this is my ultimate goal, my opportunity, and that is what I’m focused on.”
Bueno Silva began her UFC career in 2018 after competing on Dana White’s Contender Series. She has only suffered two losses in her career, having never been submitted or knocked out. Her biggest test to date came last July against former champion Holly Holm in a five-round main event. Originally, Bueno Silva submitted Holly Holm by ninja choke, but the win was overturned to a no contest after she tested positive for ADHD medicine.
Pennington respects the path Bueno Silva has taken to get to this point, but she sees significant differences in them.
“Being in this position is not foreign to me, and I feel like I’ve been here 10 years, and the majority of it has been spent in the Top 10,” Pennington said. “With her, her first challenge into that was Holly Holm. Holly has achieved great things, she’s a former champion, but she’s older, and that is tough as an athlete. I don’t think she has that ‘it’ anymore, and so now Bueno Silva is thriving off of that and she’s excited, but, at the end of the day, I think she is in for a real treat.”
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Ten years into her UFC career, Pennington believes experience will come into play throughout her fight during Bueno Silva. She has fought the best of the best in the division and has gone through the many ups and downs of fight week and has even gone through a fight week where she was fighting for a title. Pennington acknowledged that Bueno Silva can be successful during her career, but this is not her time to become champion.
When she envisions the fight on Saturday night inside the Scotiabank Arena, she sees nothing but dominance. Not just dominance, but a “Rocky” that is having fun and using every tool in her toolbox, something that has been one of her primary focuses throughout this camp.
“I’m categorized as this brawler, but, in reality, I am a well-rounded mixed martial artist,” Pennington said. “My goal this camp was to slow down, have fun and open my toolbox. And when I started doing that, I saw a completely different side of me. I’ve been proud throughout these last few years, I’m on a five-fight win streak for a reason, but I cannot explain the way I feel about me as a person and me as an athlete. And what excites me the most is I truly feel like I’m going to shine so bright on Saturday and show all the potential I have.”
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With media day in the books and weigh-ins slowly approaching, all that’s left for Pennington is to go out and perform.
“I truly feel blessed. I feel grateful and thankful every single day, but, for me I’ve already won in life, I really have. This is the accumulation of all of my hard work put into one. The fancy hardware, the shiny belt, it’s showing the world what has been there all these years. For me, it is just about embracing everything. There’s not many seven-month-olds that are going to have a cool, shiny belt hanging in their room, so that’s exciting.”
UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis took place live from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 20, 2024. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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