Irene Aldana vs. Raquel Pennington rematch in the works to headline UFC San Antonio on March 25th

By Josh Evanoff - January 26, 2023

UFC women’s bantamweight contenders Irene Aldana and Raquel Pennington could be squaring off in March.

Earlier this week, there were reports ‘Robles’ would be facing Amanda Nunes at UFC 285 in March. However, it was later clarified that ‘The Lioness’ likely wouldn’t face Aldana next. As of now, the women’s bantamweight, and featherweight champion remains unbooked.

However, it seems the same can no longer be said for Irene Aldana. As first reported by James Lynch and later confirmed by ESPN Deportes, the rising contender will likely face Raquel Pennington on March 25th. Furthermore, the two are expected to headline UFC San Antonio in a five-round main event.

‘Rocky’ is currently riding a five-fight winning streak, having most recently defeated Ketlen Vieira by split-decision earlier this month. Also during her current winning streak, Pennington has defeated names such as Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson, and Marion Reneau.

Irene Aldana

Image Credit: UFC.com

Meanwhile, Irene Aldana enters the contest having won four of her last five contests. Her last outing was against Macy Chiasson at UFC 279 in September, where she won by TKO. With a win over Pennington, Aldana will get one step closer to earning her first title shot in the promotion.

If the pair wound up facing off in March, it’ll be a rematch of their prior encounter at UFC on ESPN 4 in July 2019. In that outing, Pennington outworked Aldana en route to a split-decision victory.

With the addition of Irene Aldana vs. Raquel Pennington 2, the UFC San Antonio card is now as follows:

  • Irene Aldana vs. Raquel Pennington
  • Holly Holm vs. Yana Santos
  • Maycee Barber vs. Andrea Lee
  • Chidi Njokuani vs. Albert Duraev
  •  C.J. Vergara vs. Daniel da Silva
  • Alex Perez vs. Manel Kape
  • Sean Brady vs. Michel Pereira
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Tucker Lutz
  • Trevin Giles vs. Preston Parsons
  • Alex Caceres vs. Nate Landwehr
  • Steven Peterson vs. Lucas Alexander

What do you make of this fight announcement? Who do you think will win? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!