Julianna Peña Regains Bantamweight Title in Controversial Split Decision

In a closely contested bout, Julianna Peña emerged as the two-time bantamweight champion, defeating Raquel Pennington by split decision during the co-main event at UFC 307 held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The fight concluded with two judges scoring the match 48-47 in favor of Peña, while the third judge sided with Pennington with the same score.

Throughout the match, both fighters had their moments of dominance. Pennington seemed to gain the upper hand in the latter stages, notably dropping Peña with a fierce right hand towards the end. Despite this, Peña managed to survive and convinced two of the judges of her performance. “I wasn’t sure,” Peña said post-fight regarding her uncertainty about the decision. “I heard these judges tonight were doing some crazy stuff. It’s unfortunate I went to a decision. Just a loss of focus and that’s what I would say, I got dropped. Definitely need to be a little bit more focused.”

Pennington, on the other hand, expressed her disappointment with the decision, believing her performance was strong enough to secure victory. “I felt like I won that fight,” she stated. “I felt like I was landing more strikes and then dropping her. I was pressuring her the entire time in the fifth. It was my fault for letting it go to the judges. Back to the drawing board. Congratulations to Julianna. Good luck to everybody hearing her yap now.”

The fight commenced as a battle of jabs, with neither fighter willing to concede ground. Pennington seemed to find more consistency with her punches early on. Her first significant error came when she engaged in a clinch with Peña and was subsequently taken down. From a dominant position, Peña employed inside elbows while controlling from the top, limiting Pennington’s offense.

As the bout progressed into the later rounds, Pennington recaptured momentum by delivering a substantial head kick and targeting Peña’s legs with calf kicks. A powerful right hand in the fourth round momentarily shifted the bout in her favor, punctuating her aggression as Peña struggled to defend.

Despite appearing to seize control, Pennington could not secure a conclusive victory before the final bell. Peña, unfazed by the audience’s reaction, celebrated her triumph and immediately called for a rematch with , marking it as a significant step in her career.