Raquel Pennington will take on Julianna Pena at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City in October

The fight between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena has reportedly been scheduled for UFC 307 on October 5. The PPV fight card is expected to take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

New UFC women’s bantamweight champion Pennington (16-8) makes her first championship defense. Former champion Pena (11-5) makes her Octagon return and looks to regain the 135-pound title.

According to Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter, he was told by Pennington that she would “probably return in October” in a fight “hopefully” against Pena. In the next post on X he stated that the latter said the fight was signed on her side.

Raquel Pennington claimed the vacant title in January, when she scored a unanimous decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva to secure her sixth straight victory. The 35-year-old became champion on her second attempt. The Colorado Springs native challenged Amanda Nunes for the same title in May 2018, but was stopped in the fifth round.

Julianna Pena hasn’t fought since July 2022, when he lost her belt in the championship rematch against Nunes. The 34-year-old native of Spokane, Washington dethroned Brazil’s former two-weight champion via second-round submission in December 2021.

The promotion has yet to formally confirm the match between Pennington and Pena. The date, location and location of UFC 307 have also yet to be announced.