Reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is officially set to defend her 135-pound title oppposite Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 on May 12 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, per a recent bout confirmation by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
Combate first reported the title fight as in the works earlier this month.
Nunes, 29, is coming off a split-decision title defense over Valentina Shevchenko back at UFC 215 this past September. The 135-pound queen has now won her last six Octagon appearances, including three title fights in three main event spots. A victory over Pennington at UFC 224 could land “Lioness” on the doorstep of a superfight with current UFC women’s featherweight champion and fellow countrywoman Cris Cyborg.
Pennington, 29, is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including a unanimous decision victory over former UFC champion Miesha Tate back at UFC 205 in New York City. That was the last time we saw “Rocky” step foot inside of the Octagon after the Colorado native broke her leg in a hunting accident late last year. Since her promotional debut in 2013, Pennington has only lost to Holly Holm and Jessica Andrade via split decision, bringing her UFC bantamweight record to 6-2.
UFC 224 will also feature a highly-anticipated showdown between Brazilian middleweights and former UFC champions Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida. The main card will also feature a critical 185-pound showdown between top contenders Ronaldo Souza and Kelvin Gastelum.
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