Finally healthy, Spokane native Julianna Peña hopes to win back her title at Saturday’s UFC 307

Years in the making, Spokane native Julianna Peña will finally face off against Raquel Pennington.

Peña (12-5) and Pennington (16-9) will meet in Saturday’s UFC 307 co-main event in Salt Lake City for Pennington’s bantamweight belt.

For Peña, the long-awaited matchup offers a couple of extra incentives.

First, it’s a chance for Peña to recapture a title she lost in a rematch to Amanda Nunes in 2022. And second, it’s a chance to settle a score with Pennington, a fellow Ultimate Fighter alum.

“It’s (a fight) that’s been needing (to happen) for a long time,” Peña said.

Peña, who beat Nunes for the title in 2021, was set to fight her a third time for the bantamweight belt last year before pulling out with a rib injury.

Nunes retired after she defeated Irene Aldana and the belt was left vacant until January at UFC 297, when Pennington defeated Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision.

“I was supposed to fight for it, the vacant belt,” Peña said. “I couldn’t get healthy.”

Now, Peña will stand across from Pennington in the octagon at the Delta Center.

Eleven years ago, it was expected that Peña and Pennington would face off in the Ultimate Fighter Season 18: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate finale. As members of Team Tate, the athletes never got a chance to fight each other after Pennington lost in the semifinals. Peña went on to win the season.

“I do know that (Pennington) feels like she should have been the Ultimate Fighter and that she should have won the show,” Peña said. “I feel strongly against that in many ways, because I was able to defeat people she couldn’t get past in three rounds.”

In the TUF finale, Peña defeated Jessica Rakoczy in the first round via TKO, who had previously defeated Pennington via unanimous decision.

Despite the first-time matchup with Pennington, Peña thinks the fight will be “a great matchup stylistically.”

“It couldn’t be a more favorable matchup for both of us,” Peña said. “We’re both right around the same age, (and) we’ve both been in the sport for a long time.”

Eleven years on the UFC roster, to be exact.

Pennington stands 1 inch taller than the 5-foot-7 Peña, but Peña holds the reach advantage by a couple of inches.

“(Pennington) is a strong striker, and she believes that she’s the better boxer,” Peña said. “I think that she’s going to try to outpoint me right away.”

Most of Pennington’s fights have gone the distance, with 11 wins via decision. Despite preferring to stand and having a 52% striking accuracy, Pennington’s only TKO came in her first professional fight.

On her feet, Peña is a brawler, leading her to become reckless and wild – something she mentioned Pennington might try to take advantage of by shooting in for a takedown and landing in the top position.

“That’s not what’s going to happen,” Peña said, mentioning that wherever the fight goes, she is ready for it.

Her coach, Wayne Gregory, agrees.

“This camp has really been 18 months long, so there’s not too much we don’t know about (Pennington),” Gregory said. “I’m sure there’s not too much (Pennington) doesn’t know about us.”

Ideally, Peña wants to take the fight to the ground. Half of Peña’s wins have come by submission – including when she defeated Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title in 2021 via rear-naked choke.

“Mixed Martial Arts, it can happen anywhere at any time, and so I’m looking to get the finish wherever it comes, either by knockout or submission at every opportunity possible,” Peña said.

More than a decade in the making, Gregory foresees the fight ending favorably for Peña.

“Julianna just has that presence about her where she just physically breaks people mentally, physically, emotionally,” Gregory said, mentioning that Peña’s relentless pressure and discipline would be an asset. “If she’s doing that, it’s going to be a very, very long night for Pennington.”

Regardless of how the fight progresses, Peña is eager to step onto the canvas again.

“For me, it’s like I am the ultimate fighter,” Peña said. “And if anything, I just want to prove once again that I am who I say I am.”