Coming off a close-fought win over Holly Holm, rising sensation Ketlen Vieira took on Raquel Pennington on the main card of UFC Fight Night 217 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC Vegas 67: Raquel Pennington vs. Ketlen Vieira
Round 1
Vieira misses a low kick. Pennington comes in with a superman punch but to no avail. Nice right from Pennington in short range. Jab to the body from Pennington. Another jab to the body from Rocky. Low kick from Pennington. Vieira with a jab. Nice counter knee from Vieira. Outside low kick from Raquel. Nice 1-2 from Pennington. Pennington with a body kick. Good left hook from Pennington and she eats a few shots back. Vieira is focused on timing the left hook. Inside low kick exchanges from both. Short right hook from Vieira grazes past Raquel. Pennington gets her in the clinch to close the round.
Round 2
Pennington with an inside low kick. Outside leg kick by Pennington and a jab to the body. Nicely timed 1-2 from Raquel and a big cross. Pennington grapples with Vieira and gets here back. She is trying to take her down against the fence. Vieira does well to avoid going down. Nice right hand from Vieira on the way out of the clinch. Pennington with another 1-2 and a jab. Pennington forces the clinch. Low knee from Raquel calls a time out. Pennington showing excellent footwork and movement here. She lands a straight and goes to clinch. Knees to the body from Pennington. Vieira takes the back at the buzzer.
Round 3
Two quick low kicks from Raquel. She’s keeping great range. Solid superman punch from Pennington lands. Nice jab from Raquel. Another big right hand by Pennington. Vieira has Pennington against the cage in clinch. Pennington gets out of the clinch. Strong right hand from Rocky lands clean. Pennington goes to grapple Vieira off the cage. They trade light strikes. Heavy knee from Pennington and Vieira steps in with an elbow. Vieira takes the back and puts a hook in standing.
Official Result: Raquel Pennington defeats Ketlen Vieira by a split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Check out the highlights below:
Time for a top 5 tilt at 135 ⚔️@KetlenVieiraUFC vs @RockyPMMA
[ #UFCVegas67 is LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/FE4E7ZZYIk
— UFC (@ufc) January 15, 2023
🗣 BY SPLIT DECISION!!@RockyPMMA makes it five straight wins at #UFCVegas67 – how did you score that one? pic.twitter.com/qIx5GPXj4W
— UFC (@ufc) January 15, 2023
