TUF 18 Alumni, Raquel Pennington has now be slated to face Jessica Andrade in place of Julianna Pena. It was reported earlier this week that TUF 18 winner, Julianna Pena has suffered a serious knee injury that has forced her to pull out of her post-TUF debut at UFC 171. There are mixed messages about how the injury occurred, but Pena will not be fully recovered by UFC 171. Pennington made it all the way to the semifinals of the Ultimate Fighter Season 18 in the first ever TUF to feature female fighters.
Pennington is an excellent replacement for Pena. Pennington already has an impressive resume despite only having seven professional fights in MMA. She has faced top level competition already such as Kim Couture, Sarah Moras, Cat Zingano, Leslie Smith and most recently a victory over WMMA vet and TUF cast mate, Roxanne Modafferi in her UFC debut. Pennington matches up well with Jessica Andrade. Before the UFC announced Pennington as Pena's replacement, both Sarah Kaufman and Shana Baszler wanted the fight with Andrade.
