The UFC has gone through with plans for Amanda Nunes to defend her title on home soil.
UFC 224 now has a title fight. As expected, the promotion has put together a UFC women’s bantamweight championship fight between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington. The bout was first mentioned by Combate earlier this month, and was recently confirmed by MMA Fighting.
Nunes (15-4, 8-1 UFC) will be defending her title in her home country for the first time. She has successfully defended it twice so far since winning it from Miesha Tate at UFC 200. Her last defense was a close split-decision win over Valentina Shevchenko in September.
Pennington (9-5, 6-2 UFC) has won four bouts in a row but hasn’t fought since 2016. Her last win was over the aforementioned Tate at UFC 205.
UFC 224 goes down in Rio de Janeiro on May 12th. As of right now, it’s unclear if Nunes vs. Pennington will headline the event or another title bout will be added. Other matchups attached to the card so far will see Vitor Belfort taking on Lyoto Machida, and Ronaldo Souza meeting Kelvin Gastelum.