Raquel Pennington criticizes Holly Holm after UFC 246: ‘I wanted to fight not be hugged’

Over the weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 246, former UFC bantamweight title challenger Raquel Pennington stepped into the cage with the former champ Holly Holm. The bout was a rematch of a 2015 fight, which Holm won with a controversial split decision.

This time around, Holm won again, using her wrestling and clinch work to score a more decisive victory.

Speaking on Instagram, Pennington issued a statement on this second loss to Holm. She expressed her disappointment with Holm’s grappling-heavy gameplan.

See what she had to say below.

“Well it was not the fight I wanted after waiting 5 years,” Pennington wrote. “I wanted to fight not be hugged the whole time but that’s the fight game for you. Regardless I’m always thankful for my team, coaches, fiancée, family, friends, and true fans.”

While many fans felt that this Pennington vs. Holm rematch was a bit of a snoozer, this statement from Pennington has generated some immediate backlash. Grappling, of course, is a crucial component of the mixed martial arts toolset — even if it’s not always pretty.

Prior to her loss to Holm, Pennington picked up a split decision win over Mexico’s Irene Aldana. This win was preceded by a pair of losses to Germaine de Randamie and Amanda Nunes, the latter occurring in a bantamweight title fight.

With her win over Pennington, Holm got back on track after her own loss to Nunes, which came by way of first-round TKO. Prior to that, she picked up a lopsided decision win over Megan Anderson in the featherweight division.

What do you think should be next for Raquel Pennington and Holly Holm after UFC 246?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/20/2020.