Raquel Pennington might have lost her UFC 307 title to Julianna Peña, but in her eyes, she’s still the champion. The highly anticipated bantamweight title fight ended in controversy, with Peña regaining the belt through a split decision, sparking debates across the MMA community.
Pennington, who entered the co-main event with high hopes, was confident she did enough to win:
“I had the damaging shots,” she said in an interview with MMA Fighting, referring to her performance in the opening round. She wasn’t alone in her disbelief. According to her, even some of the biggest names in the UFC, including Dana White, Joe Rogan, and Jon Anik, were confused by the decision. “They were like, ‘No way. We don’t understand this,’” she revealed, emphasizing how widespread the disagreement was.
The fight itself was close, and Raquel Pennington acknowledges that, but she’s frustrated by how judges’ decisions can dramatically alter the outcome of competitive fights, “It’s crazy to me what these judges do,” she said, “It just takes that one person to take away everything from somebody.”
The bout’s outcome brought Pennington’s six-fight winning streak to a halt. As she explains, it wasn’t just her fight that suffered from questionable judging that night. She also felt bad for fellow fighter Jose Aldo, who she believes faced a similar situation:
“I have no idea what the judges were seeing that night,” she said, highlighting the need for change in the way MMA fights are scored.
Raquel Pennington Claims Dana White and Joe Rogan Scored UFC 307 Title Fight in Her Favour
The fourth and fifth rounds clearly went in Pennington’s favor, with her landing significant strikes, including a head kick and a punch that dropped Peña in the fourth. But it was the first round, which two judges scored for Peña, that proved decisive.
Raquel Pennington admits that when the fight ended, she was confident she had won, “They had my family lined up ready to come in there,” she said. But when Bruce Buffer announced Peña as the winner, Pennington and her family were shocked, “Is Bruce like playing a joke here?” she recalled them asking.
Despite the loss, Pennington’s focus remains on getting her belt back. She’s open to a rematch with Peña, but she knows that Peña’s tendency to sit out for long periods could delay the opportunity:
“We all know Julianna sits around forever,” Pennington said, hinting at Peña’s past injury lay-offs. In her mind, the true bantamweight title fight should be between her and Kayla Harrison, another top contender in the division.
Pennington Calls for Open Scoring
Pennington also advocates for the introduction of open scoring in MMA to prevent the kind of confusion that often surrounds close decisions:
“Something definitely needs to change with it,” she said, pointing out that open scoring could lead to more exciting fights by pushing fighters to be more aggressive.
Although disappointed by the decision, Pennington is determined to return stronger. She remains injury-free, despite hurting her hands from striking Peña so hard during the fight:
“At the end of the day, I still feel like a champion,” she said, expressing her confidence that she’ll be back to reclaim her title soon.
In the meantime, Peña has called for a trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes, while Pennington remains focused on her own path to redemption. Whether she gets a rematch with Peña or faces Harrison next, Pennington is determined to prove she’s still at the top of the bantamweight division.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
