Pennington Vs. Aldana 2 Heeadlines UFC Vegas 73

Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana are officially set to run things back.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced today (Tues., April 18, 2023) that its May 20, 2023, UFC Vegas 73 event will be headlined by a pivotal Bantamweight contender rematch between Pennington (15-9) and Aldana (14-6). The pair first went to battle in July 2019 with Pennington besting her Mexican counterpart via a split decision.

The announcement of the rematch comes after UFC booked the division’s champion, Amanda Nunes, in a trilogy against the former titleholder, Julianna Pena. Pennington vs. Aldana 2 was previously linked to UFC San Antonio last month (March 25, 2023), but because it fell through, many in the community assumed it meant Aldana was getting her long-awaited title shot.

Aldana, 35, has gone 4-1 since first facing Pennington, winning three of those four via knockout or technical knockout. The boxing specialist last defeated Macy Chiasson with a Knockout of the Year candidate up-kick to the body in round three at UFC 279 in Sept. 2022 (watch highlights).

Pennington, on the other hand, is 5-1 since defeating Aldana, winning five in a row after her rematch with Holly Holm resulted in a unanimous decision loss. The winner at UFC Vegas 73 will surely find themselves next in line for a title shot and for “Rocky,” it would be the second of her career after challenging Nunes in May 2018 at UFC 224. Pennington lost the bout via a fifth-round technical knockout (punches).

The current line up for UFC Vegas 73 can be seen below:

• 135lbs.: Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana
• 185lbs.: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Anthony Hernandez
• 265lbs.: Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
• 115lbs.: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• 175lbs.: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Brunno Ferreira
• 155lbs.: Hayisaer Maheshate vs. Viacheslav Borschev
• 155lbs.: Michael Johnson vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira