Raquel Pennington hasn’t stopped complaining about the decision that saw her lose her UFC women’s bantamweight championship to Julianna Pena on Saturday at UFC 307. Pennington feels like she was robbed, but the judges who scored the fight for the new champion got it right.
Pennington spoke with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, saying “nobody understood” the decision going Pena’s way.
Pennington said Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Joe Rogan, Jon Anik, and Daniel Cormier told her “no way” Pena won the fight.
I watched every second of the fight and have covered the sport for 15 years. I’ve watched the UFC from the beginning and combat sports for more than 40 years, and there is a way Pena won.
This decision comes down to one round: the first frame. In the second and third rounds, Pena easily won based on takedowns and control. Both women landed six significant strikes, but Pena took Pennington down and held three minutes of top control. That’s an easy round to score for Pena.
In the third, Pena landed 18 significant strikes to eight for Pennington. Pena had another takedown, and she held 2:20 of top control. That’s an even easier round to score for Pena. The fourth and fifth rounds belonged to Pennington. Her striking took control, and she avoided the takedown.
Pennington landed 26 significant strikes compared to 16 for Pena in the fourth and scored a knockdown. In the fifth, Pennington landed 35 significant strikes to 27 for Pena and again avoided being taken down. That breakdown makes it easily 2-2. I was looking back to the first round, which is where Pena won the fight.
The two women exchanged strikes in that opening frame, but no one had a decided moment that dramatically shifted momentum in either direction. As it was, Pena outlanded Pennington 25 to 17. Pena also landed at a higher percentage with a 42% connect rate compared to 28% for Pennington.
I scored the first round for Pena despite the commentary seemingly leaning in Pennington’s direction during the pay-per-view broadcast. If Pennington is basing her argument solely on the opinions of Rogan, Anik, and Cormier, as much as I respect all three men, they are incorrect in that narrative.
The judges got it right this time, and the first round was pretty definitive. There have been many tough fights to score in UFC history. The UFC 307 co-main event wasn’t one of them.
The narrative has been that a contingent of folks believe it is better for the division if Pena is the champion because she has a potential trilogy set up with retired legend and former champion Amanda Nunes.
Also, the hype for a Pena vs. Kayla Harrison championship fight would be lively and far more interesting than any title bout, including Pennington. The former champion is right to be suspicious because all those things are true.
However, there was no need for funny business in this instance. Pena won the fight and deserves to be champion, and it’s time for Pennington to rebuild her case for another title shot.
