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At UFC Vegas 3 we saw an important women's bantamweight clash between former title challenger Raquel Pennington take on Marion Reneau. The fight was something that had the attention of the majority of the MMA fans base because the current UFC women's bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes recently announced that she might retire.
Raquel Pennington entered the fight with a record of 10-8. Raquel Pennington was coming off a loss to Holly Holm in her last fight and was 1-3 in her last four. Raquel Pennigton needed this win against Marion Reneau to maintain her relevance. A loss here would mean that she would have to go way back in the line.
Marion Reneau on the other hand too didn't have much riding behind her as she stepped in the cage. Marion Reneau was on a two-fight losing streak and was in a similar position as Raquel Pennington. Marion Reneau before going on this skid was on a much-hyped 4 fight run. She stood in the cage against Raquel Pennington with a record of 9-5-1.
The fight as mentioned earlier was an important one given the recent light of comments made by division champion Amanda Nunes. The winner, be it Raquel Pennington or Marion Reneau, definitely could find themselves on a very short path to the title given the serious absence of contenders in the division.
Raquel Pennington secures a decision win
Round 1 saw a pretty active clash from both Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. Raquel Pennington had the lead early in the fight. However, in the closing minutes, Marion Reneau did secure some good shots but wasn't enough to get the round.
Round 2 witnessed a tougher performance by both Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. Marion Reneau performed better in the round and at one point even managed to secure a takedown dragging Raquel Pennington to the ground but she almost immediately lost the position. Raquel Pennington outstruck Marion Reneau so round two too belonged to Raquel Pennington.
Round 3 followed the same script as round 1 and 2 but instead of a dominating end by Marion Reneau, she went for an aggressive start. Raquel Pennington maintained her striking throughout the round and took this round with similar ease as the last two.
Raquel Pennington defeated Marion Reneau by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
With the win, Raquel Pennington improves her record to 11-8 and Marion Reneau falls to 9-6-1.
