One of the top women’s fighters in the world is heading home to defend her belt.
Nunes will put the UFC women’s bantamweight title on the line against Raquel Pennington in her hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is her first tile defense in the country. It has yet to be determined on whether the match will main event the pay-per-view card.
Nunes (15-4) is on a six-fight winning streak, most recently defeating Valentina Shevchenko via split decision at UFC 215 in September. The American Top Team fighter won the title by submitting Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in 2016. Nunes, 29, also owns a 48-second knockout over former dominate bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 in December 2016.
Pennington (9-5) Is on a winning streak herself, as she’s defeated Jessica Andrade, Bethe Correia, Elizabeth Phillips, and Miesha Tate. The Ultimate Fighter season 18 contestant currently sports a 6-2 record in the UFC. Pennington, 29, is coming off a bad leg injury she sustained in a hunting accident, or this matchup likely would have happened last year as her last fight was back in November 2016.
UFC 224 will be taking place Jeunesse Arena in Rio. Also on the card, Lyoto Machida will take on Vitor Belfort and Ronaldo Souza will meet Kelvin Gastelum in a potential middleweight title eliminator.