A pair of top 15 women’s bantamweights will throw down at a UFC event this December.
MMA Fighting was first to report the news that No. 10 ranked Raquel Pennington will fight No. 13 Julia Avila. Both fighters would subsequently confirm the booking on their Instagram Stories.
After serving a six-month suspension from USADA (which she actually self-reported), Pennington (12-8) picked up a unanimous decision win over Pannie Kianzad at the recent UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann. With the win over Kianzad, she was placed back into the rankings. Pennington is riding a two-fight win streak.
Avila (9-2) bounced back from her first UFC loss to Sijara Eubanks by submitting Julija Stoliarenko in July. “Raging Panda” is 3-1 in the UFC with wins over Gina Mazany and Kianzad.
No location, venue, or broadcast plan has been officially announced for the December 18 event, but UFC President Dana White said that all Fight Nights would be staying at the Apex in Las Vegas, NV. Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus are expected to headline.
The December 18 card currently breaks down as follows:
- Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus
- Amanda Lemos vs. Nina Ansaroff
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- Don’Tale Mayes vs. Josh Parisian
- Raphael Assunção vs. Ricky Simón
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- Jordan Leavitt vs. Matt Sayles
- Justin Tafa vs. Harry Hunsucker
- Raquel Pennington vs. Julia Avila
