Pena survives knockdown, stuns Pennington to regain UFC bantamweight title

Julianna Pena defeated Raquel Pennington via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) to recapture the UFC women's bantamweight championship in the UFC 307 co-main event Saturday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Pena overcame a fourth-round knockdown to become the second two-time champion in division history.

Pena stepped into the Octagon for the first time since losing the title in a rematch against Amanda Nunes at UFC 277 in July 2022. After Saturday's victory, she called for a trilogy bout with Nunes, who retired from mixed martial arts last year.

However, former PFL champion Kayla Harrison is likely next in line for a title shot after beating Ketlen Vieira earlier at UFC 307.

Pena took the lead in the first half of Saturday's fight, using her grappling to control Pennington on the ground. Pena attempted a rear-naked choke in the third round, but Pennington fended it off.

Pennington stormed back in the championship rounds, hurting Pena with a head kick and dropping her with a huge right hand midway through the fourth. Pennington pounced on Pena and looked for a choke, but Pena grabbed a leg, worked her way back to her feet, and survived. Pennington outworked Pena on the feet in the fifth round, pressing forward and landing at a more consistent clip.

With the victory, Pena is 3-1 in her last four Octagon outings dating back to 2021. Pena stunned Nunes with a second-round submission to win the title in December 2021 but dropped the belt in lopsided fashion in their immediate rematch the following year. Pena was sidelined for over two years after that fight due to injuries.

Pennington captured the vacant title in the wake of Nunes' retirement at UFC 297 in January, defeating Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision. "Rocky" was riding a six-fight winning streak coming in and hadn't lost since January 2020.