Time to settle the score.
Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana will collide in the upcoming UFC Vegas 73 bantamweight main event on Sat., May 20, 2023 at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the winner moving on to compete for the 135-pound strap later this year.
Reigning 135-pound titleholder, Amanda Nunes, is scheduled to face longtime rival, Julianna Pena, in the UFC 289 headliner this June in Vancouver, so there are still several moving pieces to this bantamweight puzzle.
Pennington (15-8) captured a split decision victory over Aldana (14-6) as part of the UFC San Antonio card back in summer 2019. In the years that followed, “Rocky” went on to win five of her next six, while Aldana captured four of her next five.
Aldana, one year older than Pennington at 35, won three of those four by knockout.
UFC Vegas 73 will also feature the middleweight showdown between Anthony Hernandez and Edmen Shahbazyan. Elsewhere on the card, Ilir Latifi returns to throw heavyweight leather opposite Rodrigo Nascimento while Nick Fiore and Chase Hooper hook ‘em up at 155 pounds.