1. Raquel Len Pennington was born on September 5,1988 and is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.
Raquel Pennington graduated from Harrison High School in 2007 as secretary of the National Honors Society, with many athletic and academic scholarships.
Raquel Pennington never played sports on a collegiate level due to a broken back.
Raquel Pennington started training in martial arts at the age of 19, though initially her parents would not let her fight.
Raquel Pennington fought in amateur MMA from 2009 to 2011, amassing a record of 7 wins and 1 loss with five of those wins by submission.
Raquel Pennington made her Invicta Fighting Championships promotional debut against future The Ultimate Fighter team mate Sarah Moras on July 28,2012, at Invicta FC 2.
Raquel Pennington defeated veteran Tonya Evinger via submission due to a guillotine choke in the second round and was the third female pick of Team Tate.
Raquel Pennington defeated Duke via unanimous decision and the performance earned both participants Fight of The Season honors.
Raquel Pennington lost a unanimous decision to Rakoczy.
Raquel Pennington made her promotional debut against TUF 18 team mate Roxanne Modafferi on November 30,2013, at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale.
Raquel Pennington was scheduled to face Holly Holm at UFC 181 on December 6,2014.
Raquel Pennington won the fight via technical submission due to a bulldog choke at the end of the first round.
Raquel Pennington became the 4th fighter in UFC history to finish a fight with that move.
Raquel Pennington fought Holly Holm at UFC 184 on February 28,2015, a bout that was originally supposed to take place at UFC 181.
Raquel Pennington was set to take on Liz Carmouche at UFC 191.
Raquel Pennington won the rematch by submission in the second round.
Raquel Pennington faced former UFC Bantamweight Champion and former TUF Coach Miesha Tate at UFC 205 on November 12,2016.
Raquel Pennington won the fight by unanimous decision, outstriking and outwrestling Tate for all three rounds.
Raquel Pennington lost the fight via TKO in the fifth round.
Raquel Pennington returned at UFC Fight Night 139 on November 10,2018, where she took on former UFC featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie.
Raquel Pennington faced Irene Aldana on July 20,2019, at UFC on ESPN 4.
Raquel Pennington was scheduled to face Holly Holm in a rematch on October 6,2019, at UFC 243.
Raquel Pennington faced Marion Reneau on June 20,2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Volkov.
Raquel Pennington accepted a six-month USADA suspension after self-reporting a doping violation upon realizing she had ingested banned substances, 7-Keto-DHEA and AOD-9064, prescribed by her doctor to treat a medical condition.
Raquel Pennington faced Pannie Kianzad on September 18,2021, at UFC Fight Night 192.
Raquel Pennington was scheduled to face Julia Avila on December 18,2021, at UFC Fight Night 199.
Raquel Pennington won the fight via guillotine submission in the second round.
Raquel Pennington faced Aspen Ladd, replacing Irene Aldana, on April 9,2022, at UFC 273.
Raquel Pennington faced Ketlen Vieira on January 14,2023, at UFC Fight Night 217.
Raquel Pennington was scheduled to rematch Irene Aldana on May 20,2023, at UFC Fight Night 223.
Raquel Pennington faced Mayra Bueno Silva on January 20,2024, at UFC 297 for the vacant UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.
Raquel Pennington faced former UFC Bantamweight champion Julianna Pena on October 5,2024 at UFC 307.