Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva will serve as the co-main event of UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. The two will fight for the vacant UFC Women’s Bantamweight title
Raquel Pennington (15-8) is riding on a 5-win streak with her last loss happening in 2020 to Holly Holm. Judging by the UFC 297 odds, her brilliant run might come to an end on Saturday, January 20, 2024. Bookies see Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1-1) as a -157 favorite.
Raquel Pennington is a 35-year-old Colorado-based fighter who’s been fighting professionally since 2012, with her amateur debut happening back in 2009. She joined the UFC in 2014 after an unsuccessful stint with Invicta FC. In Dana White’s promotion, she has been fantastic, especially since the start of the 2020s decade.
After losing to Holly Holm by decision in June 2020, she went on to win five fights in a row. The best thing is that she defeated a couple of real elite fighters, most notably, Ketlen Vieira. She beat her by a split decision in January 2023.
She did great striking-wise in that bout, landing 81 significant strikes in three rounds. That’s a lot of strikes and punches, but that’s not unusual for “Rocky.” She tends to land 4.02 strikes a minute. The bad news for her is that the same is the case with Mayra Bueno Silva.
Mayra Bueno Silva has 10 wins in her portfolio, with two losses, one draw, and one no contest. Both of her losses happened by decision – to Mayna Moroz and Manon Fiorot. Her only draw happened against Montana De La Rosa. It was a majority draw, which “Sheetara” would have won if she wasn’t deducted one point for grabbing the fence.
When it comes to the one that was declared no contest, it happened against Holly Holm. Originally, it was a win by submission for Bueno Silva, but the result was overturned after she tested positive for a banned substance.
Bueno Silva has 10 wins in her portfolio, with her biggest wins including those against grappling expert Gillian Robertson, whom she defeated by submission, against former Muay Thai world champion Lina Länsberg, and so on.
