Stepping in on just two weeks’ notice, Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade looks for her second straight win when she faces a familiar foe on September 5th at UFC 191: “Johnson vs Dodson 2” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Andrade is set to face Raquel “Rocky” Pennington in a bantamweight rematch on the card.
Pennington was initially slated to face off against Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche in two weeks, but an injury forced Carmouche out of the fight. Andrade and Pennington first faced off at UFC 171 in March 2014 when Andrade eked out a narrow Split Decision victory over Pennington in a closely-contested bout.
Andrade (13-4-0) rebounded from a loss to Carmouche in her Octagon debut with three straight UFC victories that established her as a contender in the stacked women’s bantamweight division. However, an upset loss to Marion “The Belizean Bruiser” Reneau in February was a significant setback for Andrade, whose UFC career was reportedly on the line in her most recent fight. Fortunately for the Brazilian, she got back in the win column with a dominant Unanimous Decision victory over Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras at UFC Fight Night 71 on July 15th.
Pennington (5-5-0), a semi-finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 18, kicked off her official UFC career with a Unanimous Decision win over veteran Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi at the TUF 18 Finale. Her next fight ended in a razor-thin loss to Andrade in the pair’s first meeting, but Pennington immediately got herself back on track with an impressive first-round choke-out of Ashlee Evans-Smith at UFC 181. Most recently, Pennington put forth a solid showing against Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm at UFC 184, but dropped another close Split Decision.
UFC 191: “Johnson vs Dodson 2” takes place on September 5th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a UFC Flyweight Championship rematch between Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and John “The Magician” Dodson, and also features a women’s strawweight bout between “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant and Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
Wow – their first fight was outstanding and undoubtedly is the reason these two have been matched up again. I look for a totally different fight this time around, guns blazing from both girls from the opening bell and it likely won’t go the distance. I think Pennington, with a full training camp will take this one.
Pennington is a loss away from being sent down to take the Invicta belt.