Raquel Pennington has fought for a UFC title before, but this time she’ll carry a new tool in her mental arsenal: contentment.
“I have a smile on my face,” the Colorado Springs native said in a press conference for Saturday night’s UFC 297 in Toronto, an event she will co-headline as she fights Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant bantamweight title.
“My mind is right. My heart is right. My freakin’ spirit is right. My motivation is on a different level. I just feel 100% different.”
Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) traces the difference to the June 1 birth of her daughter, Alayah. Motherhood with wife Tecia Torres, who carried the child that was conceived with a fertilized egg from Pennington, has resulted in “one of the best years of my life.” Pennington said she’s more motivated and has found herself embracing her professional journey more than she previously had.
Pennington, who has served as an assistant gymnastics coach for the consolidated Academy District 20 team based at Rampart High School, has long preached a holistic mind-body-spirit approach to athletics with those mentored. Now, she feels the transformational events of her recent life have helped her align her own priorities.
She said she has no room for negativity and fear and she feels obligated to demonstrate to Alayah how to be courageous and brave, even if she’s far too young to grasp what will happen at 8 p.m. in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
“It’s super-exciting, because not only am I recharged as an individual and being a new mom and finding a different motivation, but I have found a different side of me in the gym,” said Pennington, who is riding a five-match winning streak dating back to June 20, 2020. “I can feel it in my entire being. I’m super-excited to showcase that to the world.”
This was a contrast to the last time she fought for a title. In May 2018, she went to Brazil and lost decisively to then-champion Amanda Nunes.
That fight came after an 18-month layoff that included shoulder surgery and with “a lot of things going on in my life.” Nunes won in a fifth-round TKO in a fight so lopsided that controversy swirled around Pennington’s corner allowing her to continue as deep as she did into the fight.
“The stars weren’t aligned,” Pennington said, looking back on the fight with Nunes, whose recent retirement vacated the title. “My heart wasn’t right.”
Pennington is adamantly convinced that the stars are now aligned. That conviction remains firm despite airline issues on the way from Colorado to Toronto that left her without her luggage and after a testy press conference exchange with the 32-year-old Buena Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC):
Buena Silva: “Raquel, when you fight, everyone is sleeping.”
Pennington: “Sleeping, really? You’re sitting here talking s---t, but who have you fought?”
Buena Silva: “I never finish watching one of your fights, because when I watch, I’m sleeping. Everybody is sleeping.”
Pennington: “You have so much time doing this (talking), but guess what? My fists will do the talking.”
Pennington has heard similar complaints about her style, and she strongly disagrees with the assessment of what she feels is a strong all-around game.
But she also doesn’t really care. Pennington knows herself after 14 years in professional mixed martial arts and the ups and downs that have come with that longevity. What she has now is a perspective that the sport isn’t the end-all, be-all of her existence. When she calls this “just another fight, another steppingstone,” she does so with an unmistakable sense of honesty.
And make no mistake, this is a big deal: UFC has just three weight classes for women — strawweight, flyweight and bantamweight. The bantamweight title has been held by some of the biggest names in the sport, from Ronda Rousey to Holly Holm to Miesha Tate and Nunes. For the Harrison High School graduate to join that list would be massive for her career.
But Pennington’s approach shouldn’t be misconstrued as indifference. Instead, this is the security of one who knows the key tenets of her existence will be no different with or without a title belt. And that’s a person who tends to find the stars align in their favor.
“I’ve already won in life,” Pennington said. “I’m truly blessed. I’m thankful to be here. I live a really cool life. I have an amazing opportunity to do this. For me, it’s just continuing to build my legacy and have something to pass along to my daughter.”
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