On the back of two decision victories over former UFC champions in two five-round matchups, Ketlen Vieira opens 2023 with a bout against Raquel Pennington who herself is on a good run of form. Number two in the Bantamweight rankings, the Brazilian-born Vieira is on a mission to become the UFC women’s Bantamweight champion. Still, she first must pass through the record-breaking number five ranked Pennington who holds the record for the most bouts in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history. The fight takes place on the main card of the UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Imavov at the UFC Apex, Las Vegas USA, on 14th January 2023.
Bet on Ketlen Vieira vs. Raquel Pennington with 1xBet
MMA: UFC Women’s Bantamweight
Location: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
Where to watch: ESPN+
Date: 15.1.2023, 6:20
Ketlen Vieira
The former Mr Cage Bantamweight women’s champion, Ketlen “Fenômeno” Vieira, defeated two former UFC champions in her last two matches via decision. Her back-to-back wins over Miesha Tate and Holly Holm in November 2021 and May 2022 are a sign that the fighter who has lost only twice in her professional career is making a play for the championship. Although the split decision win over Holly Holm was dogged by controversy as most of the media thought Holm had done enough to win. Now number eleven in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings, the 31-year-old has a 15% knockout percentage and a 31% submission rate. In her last four fights, she is 3-1, with all of them going the distance. Her loss to Yana Kunitskaya in early 2021 in a catchweight bout was distinct because she was coming back from an injury layoff and missed weight.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 31
- Height: 5’ 8”
- Weight: 135 lb
- Reach: 68”
- Record: 13-2-0
Raquel Pennington
“Rocky” has had a star-studded UFC career which seemed to follow her star-spangled High School days. Denied an opportunity to compete in Collegiate sports because of a neck injury, the High School honoree has earned record-breaking achievements in her UFC career. Making her promotional debut in 2013 by winning The Ultimate Fighter 18 finale against Roxanne Modafferi, Pennington became the 4th fighter in UFC history to finish a fight with a bulldog choke when she submitted Ashlee Evans-Smith in the first round in her fourth fight in the UFC. She went on to rack up several records, including the most total fight time in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (3:37:33); most decision wins in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history, and most decision bouts in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (12). Pennington comes into the bout on a four-fight win streak with three decision victories and one submission. The only blight on her recent record was her loss to Holly Holm two years ago.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 34
- Height: 5’ 7”
- Weight: 145 lb
- Reach: 67.5”
- Record: 14-8-0
Betting Odds
The sportsbooks are finding it difficult to decide the favorite for the encounter. Bet 365 prices the two fighters on 190 odds to win. 1xbet installed Vieira as the favorite at 1.76 odds to win, while Pennington is priced at 2 odds. Betway has Vieira at 1.77 odds as the favorite and Pennington on 1.87 odds as the underdog. Expect to see the lines continue to move until fight time.
