Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena: UFC 307 Picks, Predictions and Odds

Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena go head to head for the Women's Bantamweight championship at UFC 307.

The two MMA veterans will meet for the first time on Saturday to fight for Pennington's title.

Pennington and Pena have been rivals for several years ever since they competed as teammates on the Ultimate Fighter back in 2013.

Pennington won the Bantamweight belt vacated by Amanda Nunes last time out against Mayra Bueno Silva, a belt previously held by Pena.

The champion is on a six fight win streak which includes wins over the likes of Ketlen Vieira, Aspen Ladd and Macy Chiasson. Pennington enters this match with a 13-5 UFC record.

Pena, who is 7-3 in the UFC and hasn’t competed in two years due to a series of injuries, was last seen losing a rematch to Amanda Nunes after winning the title in their first fight at UFC 269 in 2021.

UFC 307: Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena betting picks and predictions

Over 3.5 rounds (-300)

Although the majority of both of their careers have been fought over three rounds, both have gone the distance over the full 25 minute championship match time limit.

Pennington has seen 13 of her 18 UFC fights go to decision, with 10 wins.

The Colorado native's average fight time is 14:46 minutes and only has one stoppage win in her last eight fights dating back to 2019.

Pena has four decisions from 10 fights and while she does have more finishes on her record, she still possesses a rather lengthy average fight time of 12:24 minutes.

Both are as tough as they come and are unlikely to give any ground early.

Julianna Pena to win (+140)

Pena shocked the world when she submitted Amanda Nunes to win the Bantamweight title at UFC 269 as a +700 underdog at the time.

Although she lost the rematch at UFC 277 in 2022 by unanimous decision, Pena was dangerous off her back and remained competitive on her feet in the opening couple of rounds.

Despite her inactivity in recent times, the 35-year-old is likely to implement an aggressive and relentless game plan, integrating her striking and grappling to push the pace on Pennington.

Pena has two KO/TKO’s and two submissions from her seven UFC wins and in what is expected to be a close fight it could well be worth siding with the former champion to regain the belt.

UFC 307: Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena odds

Raquel Pennington	-170 ML
Julianna Pena	+140 ML

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.