In the sole WMMA fight on the UFC 171 card, bantamweight Raquel Pennington fought Jessica Andrade on the FS1 prelims broadcast. Andrade got an early lead in round 1 as she controlled the action with her wrestling. However, through the final ten minutes, Pennington gave her a lot of trouble with her rangy striking and size advantage. After the final bell, two of the three judges scored it for Andrade and her relentless pressure and pursuit of the takedown.
Andrade closed the distance early after eating a couple shots from the outside. She landed a series of digging blows to the body of Penning as she pushed her opponent into the fence. Andrade tossed Pennington over her hip for a takedown and ended up in guard. Pennington was able to stand up, but was quickly tossed by Andrade again. Pennington went for an armbar from bottom, but couldn’t finish.
Pennington looked to work from the outside early in the second round. When Andrade closed distance, Raquel grabbed a muay thai clinch and landed a couple hard knees. She followed up with quick combinations at range that slipped right passed Andrade’s guard. After getting marked up from distance, Andrade pressured her way inside to tie Pennington up in the clinch, but she couldn’t score the takedown. Pennington started to land good counters as Andrade pressured, but ate a few hooks in the process. Pennington grabbed a standing guillotine that looked threatening, but Andrade was able to escape just before the bell.
Pennington’s footwork looked much better in the opening minute of the final round. She was able to stay on the outside and land counters while circling away. Andrade was able to pressure into the clinch and landing a quick combination, but Pennington got back out and started landing from distance again. Andrade was finally able to close distance again midway through the round and clinch against the cage. She tried to flurry with Raquel’s back against the fence but couldn’t land clean. Pennington grabbed another MT clinch and landed a pair of knees before breaking off with an elbow. Pennington grabs a back clinch and drags Andrade to the mat. Andrade got up, but was immediately dumped again. Back on the feet, Pennington breaks off the clinch with a flurry as the fight came to an end.
Jessica Andrade eked out a split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29) win over Raquel Pennington