Bantamweights Raquel Pennington and Julia Avila are set to collide at UFC’s December 18th event. News of the new booking was first reported by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
The fight joins a UFC event that doesn’t have a confirmed location currently.
Pennington, a former title challenger, will be looking for her third consecutive victory. She most recently returned against Pannie Kianzad, defeating her via split decision in September.
The fight was Pennington’s first appearance since taking a six-month sanction by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Before then, she had scored a scorecard victory over Marion Reneau in 2020.
Avila returned to the win column in June of this year, stopping former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Julija Stoliarenko in the third round with a rear naked choke. The win moved Avila’s UFC record to two wins and one loss.
A heavyweight fight between Chris Daukaus and Derrick Lewis is currently being negotiated as the promotion’s December 18th main event. While the fight hasn’t been set yet, it is in the process of being finalized.
Here’s how that card would look if the main event gets confirmed:
Bout 7: Derrick Lewis (25-8) vs. Chris Daukaus (12-3) (Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Nina Nunes (10-7) vs. Amanda Lemos (10-1-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 5: Anthony Hernandez (8-2) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (13-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 4: Don’Tale Mayes (8-4) vs. Josh Parisian (14-4) (Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Raphael Assuncao (27-8) vs. Ricky Simon (18-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Gerald Meerschaert (33-14) vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (24-4-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Raquel Pennington (12-8) vs. Julia Avila (9-2) (Bantamweight)
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