Former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Jessica Penne advanced on to the semi-final round with an impressive Unanimous Decision win during tonight’s tenth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned.” Penne defeated fellow Team Pettis member Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly.
The quarterfinal bout between Penne and Daly was one of this season’s best fights thus far and both fighters put forth excellent performances. Penne was able to take control of the fight on the ground in the third and final round and she walked away with a well-deserved win thanks to the strong finish.
Penne (11-2-0 pro, ranked #4) landed a nice right hand early in the fight and time was called when she was poked in the eye. Action resumed and both women landed punching combinations. Penne tried to drag Daly (14-5-0 pro, ranked #5) down from back control, but Daly defended well against the fence. The fighters traded knees and Daly broke free after landing an overhand right. Penne mixed things up with body kicks and a takedown attempt, but Daly stuffed it. Penne took her back late in the round, but Daly threw her over her head and the round ended with an exchange of punches.
Round two picked up where the first left off and both women landed punches early on. Daly countered a clinch by tripping Penne to the mat. Penne returned to her feet and landed crisp combinations that were met by lead right hooks and straight lefts from Daly. Penne countered a body lock by hip tossing Daly to the ground and she moved to mount soon after. Penne used punches to set up an armbar attempt and she transitioned to Daly’s back before the end of the round.
The close fight went to a sudden victory round and Penne countered a body kick by taking Daly down. She struck from top position and took Daly’s back, but Daly turned into her guard. Penne worked for a triangle choke from her back and she took back control once again in a scramble. Daly rolled over and Penne punched from the top. She continued to dominate the positional battle on the mat until Daly scrambled back to her feet with 50 seconds to go. She tried for a late takedown, but was only able to get Penne down for a split second.
Penne’s ground control in round three was enough to seal the fight in her favour and all three judges awarded her the final round with scores of 10-9 across the board. She now moves on to the semi-final round where she will face the winner of the upcoming bout between Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza (ranked #1) and Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres (ranked #3). The Esparza-Torres fight, along with the fourth quarterfinal bout between Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood (ranked #2) and Team Melendez’s final remaining competitor, “Thug” Rose Namajunas (ranked #7), airs next week.
The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned” airs every Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360. The winner of the gruelling competition will become the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)
I love Ais the Bash but kudos to Penne. Pettis said it…he said Jessica Penne doesn’t even know how good she really is. Look for this next fight and the strength of Carla Esparza to come to the fore.
That was a hell of a good fight. Very impressed with Penne. Of course Tecia was going to be Carla’s next defense of her Invicta Strawweight title before the UFC and TUF 20 came along. So Torres – Esparza is essentially a championship fight already. Add to that Jojo vs. Rose, which is a huge match plus now Penne and of course Randa — these next few TUF weeks are going to be on fire. Can’t wait to see how things play out.
Hey andy…here is some food for thought. I went to Rose’s twitter as I do daily and she is giving thanks for her incredible training partners. There is a photo…and guess who they look like and are built like???
That is right…the tiny tornado!!! I coyld definitly see Torres taking out Esparza, then Penne. I wonder??????
But the crazy thing is that Rose’s two training partners are at least 6-8″ shorter than her. Hmmmm????
I would bet $1000 that Rose is in the finals…it is the other side of the tournament bracket that is questionable.
That is very interesting Mike, thanks for this info. Esparza seems like she’s very subdued in her TV interviews since TUF 20 — not very confident at all. If Carla didn’t make it, then it’s either Torres or Penne that took her out. On the other side of the bracket, I’m still looking for the “new” Ronda Rousey that Dana White talked about – JoJo doesn’t seem to be a “Rowdy” type of fighter, though she could make it to the Finals. But somebody has to beat Randa, if Randa doesn’t make it. Could “Randa” = “Ronda”? Then there’s charismatic Rose – who does have the “Rowdy” personality and is getting better every time.
Also, remember, there will probably be at least 2 other fights from the TUF 20 contestants on the TUF 20 Finale, so we could be in for a huge treat!!
We know now, andy…even without seeing the semis….rose vs carla. No way Penne can defend that kind of takedown strength. It has been along time since i have seen that kind of takedown tenacity. Carla is well deserving of #1 seed. Tecia has got to be the strongest girl in the division and Carla would not quit. She was gonna take Tecia down and that is all there was to it.
I will say it now….except for Carla Esparza, jemyma betrian will blow through the division when she makes it to the UFC