Ex-champion reportedly suffers injury in major blow to Noche UFC fight card

This former titleholder was set to return for the first time since losing her UFC belt.

(Zuffa LLC)

Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Raquel Pennington has reportedly withdrawn from her upcoming fight at Noche UFC.

“Rocky” hasn’t competed since losing her belt to Julianna Peña at UFC 307, and unfortunately AG Fight reports that the former UFC titleholder has been forced out of a matchup with top contender Norma Dumont due to an undisclosed injury.

Pennington’s withdrawal is a significant blow to Noche UFC in terms of the card's overall name value. The matchup with Dumont was one of only three bouts between ranked fighters scheduled for the event, which takes place at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX on September 13.

Raquel Pennington (red glove) celebrates defeating Mayra Bueno Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Raquel Pennington Misses Out On Potential Title Eliminator

A competitor on The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 and member of the UFC roster since 2013, Pennington came up short in her first crack at UFC gold when she was stopped by future UFC Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes at UFC 224.

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A unanimous decision over Marion Reneau in 2020 kicked off what eventually became a five-fight win for “Rocky” before she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in a fight for the vacant women’s bantamweight title. Matched with former champion Peña for her first title defense at UFC 307, Pennington dropped a split decision and relinquished her belt before Peña went on to lose the title to Kayla Harrison at UFC 316.

Raquel Pennington (red gloves) fights Julianna Pena (blue gloves) in a women’s bantamweight title bout during UFC 307 at Delta Center. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Barring the possible return of former two-division titleholder Nunes, the Pennington vs. Dumont matchup could have decided the first challenger of Harrison’s title reign. Currently ranked at #4 in the women’s bantamweight division, Dumont has won five-straight fights and most recently bested former title challenger Irene Aldana at UFC 306.

Major Stakes For Top Noche UFC Fights

It remains to be seen if the UFC may try to find Dumont a new opponent for Noche UFC, but the card does boast a pair of high-profile strawweight and featherweight bouts in the night’s main and co-main events.

Following his loss to Alexander Volkanovski in a vacant featherweight title fight at UFC 314, Diego Lopes is set to try and halt the significant hype that Jean Silva has accumulated over the course of his five UFC outings.

Jean Silva (blue gloves) reacts during his fight against Bryce Mitchell (red gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The “Fighting Nerds” standout has stopped every opponent he’s faced since coming off of Dana White’s Contender Series, and in his most recent outing Silva submitted Bryce Mitchell to secure his third post-fight bonus in a row.

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The Noche UFC co-main event also has significant stakes for the strawweight title picture, as Tatiana Suarez will try to rebound from her failed championship bid at UFC 312 when she meets Amanda Lemos, who has gone 2-1 since her own loss to reigning UFC Strawweight Champion Weili Zhang.

Tatiana Suarez (blue gloves) celebrates the win by submission over Jessica Andrade (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Bridgestone Arena. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Noche UFC Confirmed Fights

• Main Event: Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva

• Co-Main Event: Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Lemos

• Jared Gordon vs. Rafa Garcia

• Jesus Aguilar vs. Luis Gurule

• Alice Pereira vs. Montserrat Rendon

• Claudio Puelles vs. Joaquim Silva

• Jose Medina vs. Dusko Todorovic

• Zach Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas

• David Martinez vs. Carlos Vera

• Alessandro Costa vs. Alden Coria

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