The MMA Daily

Preview

In the Women’s Bantamweight division, we have a showdown between former title challenger Raquel ‘Rocky’ Pennington and Macy Chiasson. Since dropping two straight fights in 2018, Pennington has won three of her last four. Checking in at eighth in the rankings, Pennington is closing in on a second crack at UFC gold. Meanwhile, having seen two scheduled fights against Aspen Ladd fall by the wayside, Chiasson steps into this fight on short notice. A winner of two straight, Chiasson has a chance not only to extend her win streak, but leapfrog Pennington in the rankings. 

Prediction

Despite the fact that Raquel Pennington was originally scheduled to fight Julia Avila, rankings-wise, this fight does more for her and Macy Chiasson. With both respectively sitting at eight and tenth in the Bantamweight division, there is a real chance that the winner could find themselves in a title eliminator next. Pennington is a pressure boxer who boasts excellent durability. Always game to scrap, Pennington never shies away from a brawl. With solid dirty boxing from inside the clinch and some wrestling chops, Pennington can beat you in several ways. As for Chiasson, she is primarily a striker who is solid in the clinch. With devastating knees and elbows to go along with power, fighting inside the pocket with her can be the undoing of her opponent.

As for a prediction, I’m siding with Pennington. While Chiasson does present issues for Pennington on the feet, and will have a four inch height and five inch reach advantage, I believe that Pennington’s ability to pressure and wrestle gives her the slight edge in this fight. Chiasson may ward off Pennington with knees from inside, but her iffy takedown and ground woes do give me concern. Throw in the fact that she is taking this fight on two weeks’ notice and cardio could be a factor in the later rounds. So with all that said, I predict that Pennington wins via decision.