A new women’s bantamweight bout has been added to the exciting card the UFC is building.
Raquel Pennington (14-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is set to take on Ketlen Viera (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at the event, which is expected to be UFC Fight Night 217, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Both fighters confirmed the matchup on their social media accounts.
Pennington will put a four-fight winning streak on the line against Brazil’s Vieira. After a rough patch that saw her drop three of four fights, Pennington got on a roll in mid-2020 with a win over Marion Reneaau.
After 15 months away, she returned in September 2021 to beat Pannie Kianzad, then submitted “Ultimate Fighter” winner Macy Chiasson at featherweight later that year. In April, she picked up arguably her biggest win yet when she returned to bantamweight to beat Aspen Ladd at UFC 273.
Vieira has bounced back in the past year after a decision loss to former Invicta champion Yana Kunitskaya. In November 2021, she outworked former champion Miesha Tate in Tate’s second fight since her comeback from retirement. And in April, she beat another ex-champ in Holly Holm with a split decision, giving her wins in three of her past four fights.
With the addition, the UFC’s Jan. 14 lineup now includes:
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Carlos Hernandez vs. Allan Nascimento
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Jimmy Flick vs. Jeff Molina
Raquel Pennington vs. Ketlen Vieira
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