I think it’s safe to say that Saturday evening was not Jessica Penne‘s night.
In her first UFC title challenge of her career, the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion took on UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the main event of UFC Fight Night 69. What resulted from that bout is something that will have Penne scurrying back to the drawing board.
In three rounds of action, she was absolutely manhandled by the champion, taking huge strike after huge strike. Eventually, referee Marc Goddard had to step in and save Penne from further damage, effectively ending her bid for the title.
In the aftermath of her loss to Jedrzejczyk, let’s take a look at three bouts Penne can take in an attempt to rebound.
Felice Herrig
Not long ago, both Penne and Felice Herrig graced the Ultimate Fighter 20 house in an attempt to become the inaugural 115-pound champion.
Both failed.
Also, not long ago, both Penne and Herrig won bouts at the finale of that show, earning them high rankings in the UFC. Penne defeated Randa Markos, while Herrig bested Lisa Ellis.
Even closer to present day, both women lost their sophomore outings. Penne obviously fell to Jedrzejczyk, while Herrig was put down by Paige VanZant.
These women are bound to go head-to-head sooner or later. These coincidences make this a good potential bout.
Both women are in need of a win now that both have taken losses. It would be a classic grappler-striker matchup, so it would be interesting to see whose will perseveres.
It could be a fun little scrap.
Angela Hill
UFC 188 was last weekend and saw Angela Hill take a loss to Tecia Torres. UFC Fight Night 69 was this weekend and saw Penne lose.
Looks like these ladies’ schedules could match up well.
Hill is way less experienced, but her standup is very effective. Penne, despite what you saw against the champion, has good standup in her own right and could test out the developing ground of Hill.
Just from a scheduling aspect, this fight makes sense. Plus, both are coming off losses, so that makes even more sense at this point.
Bec Rawlings-Joanne Calderwood loser
One of the UFC’s next trips to Europe will be in Scotland, where a bout between Joanne Calderwood and Bec Rawlings will go down. This could be the best matchup for Penne, as the loser is a great look for her.
Rawlings and Calderwood are both 1-1 in the UFC, just like Penne. They also shared the house with her on the aforementioned reality show, which again makes a lot of sense for this matchup.
I personally would like to see her face Rawlings. Both are intense personalities that could make the fight intriguing to those with an eye on it.
Either way, wherever Penne lands for her next fight, there should be interest. She is a title challenger that showed a ton of heart despite the fact she got beat up big time.
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