Juliana Pena got the upper hand after challenging the bantamweight belt of Raquel Pennington no UFC 307which took place this Saturday (5), in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States.
Former champion of the category, Peña invested in the ground fight against the then owner of the belt to impose her strongest point in the Octagon.
The fight started on the feet, to the advantage of Pennington, who managed to avoid Peña’s strong ground game, but was unable to take advantage in striking and ended up losing the first round.
The second round started at the same pace, but Julianna finally managed a takedown, further increasing her dominance in the octagon. In the final minute, Raquel managed to get up; the challenger remained mounted on the back of the champion, who connected a sequence of blows from behind and left the fight balanced and completely open.
Pennington finally took the advantage of the fight in the third round, managing to keep the fight standing. Peña, on the other hand, responded and managed another takedown, securing a rear naked choke in the last seconds.
Faced with the disadvantage, Raquel grew from the fourth round onwards and really bothered the challenger with the number of significant blows connected. Julianna didn’t get another takedown until the end of the fight.
The fifth and final round was the most explosive, with a clear advantage for the belt owner, who managed to consolidate her recovery after the first three rounds at a disadvantage.
After five rounds, the judges decided, in a split manner, for the victory of Julianna Peña, who once again became the champion of the women’s bantamweight category.
Julianna Peña challenges Amanda Nunes
With the women’s bantamweight belt in hand once again, Julianna Peña took advantage of the victory microphone to challenge an old rival: Brazilian Amanda Nunes, who has been retired for over a year.
The two faced each other for the category title twice. In the first, in December 2021, Julianna won by submission in the second round and won the title for the first time.
Not satisfied with the result, Amanda challenged the belt six months later and, this time, the scenario was different. The Brazilian defeated the North American by unanimous decision from the judges after five rounds.
Peña, however, stepped away from the octagons shortly after losing the title because she became pregnant. In June 2023, when Julianna was still on maternity leave, Amanda announced her retirement after defeating Irene Aldana at UFC 289.