Julianna Peña regained the UFC women's bantamweight title with a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307.
The judges saw the fight 48-47 across all three cards, though they differed on the victor. In the end, it was the closely contested opening round that decided the fight, with two of the three cageside scorers leaning the way of the challenger.
The two fighters were very competitive with one another, with Peña's highlight being a back take in the third round that ended with a face crank attempt.
By far the most significant strike of the bout was landed in the fourth frame by "Rocky," who — after having success with her hands — dropped the challenger.
Pennington followed up this big moment by attempting a submission that allowed Peña to recover, but she maintained the pressure to win the fifth round on all of the cards.
MMA Fans React To Julianna Peña's Title-Winning Performance At UFC 307
The fight saw Peña return from a long layoff, having not fought since her rematch with Amanda Nunes, which she emphatically lost in July 2022.
During the post-fight interview, Joe Rogan prompted the new champion to talk about Kayla Harrison and her win earlier on in the night. Instead, Peña spoke about bringing "The Lioness" back to the Octagon for a trilogy fight.
MMA fans reacted to the close fight that stayed in one gear for the majority of the duration on social media.