It will be difficult for anyone to fill the shoes of Amanda Nunes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) women’s bantamweight division. However, the two top contenders for that role will determine who gets first crack at it.
On Saturday, Jan. 20, Mayra Bueno Silva will face Raquel Pennington for the bantamweight title Nunes vacated when she retired in June 2023. While sportsbooks favor Silva to take the belt, there could be some betting opportunities outside of the moneyline.
Silva v Pennington details
It will be a little strange for UFC fans when this fight starts on Saturday. It could mark the beginning of a new chapter in the fixture’s history.
No. 2 Silva and No. 3 Pennington will be part of the first women’s bantamweight title bout since 2016 that doesn’t feature either Nunes or Ronda Rousey. It’s also just the second time since the UFC opened the division that such a fight does not bear either of those names.
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024
- Time: Main card begins at 10 p.m. ET
- Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada
- Broadcast: ESPN+ pay per view
- Pennington record: 15-9-0
- Silva record: 10-2-1
- Pennington last five: WWWWW
- Silva last five: WWWWW*
- Pennington last fight: Jan. 14, 2023, split decision win over Ketlen Vieira
- Silva last fight: July 15, 2023, submission win over Holly Holm*
(*=Silva’s victory over Holly Holm on July 15, 2023, was later declared a no contest after Silva tested for ritalinic acid, a banned substance. Silva maintains that her positive test was due to taking Concerta for ADHD.)
While Pennington has a slight inch edge in terms of reach, Silva counters with a two-inch advantage as far as leg reach goes. Pennington is also an inch taller but Silva has 4.5 extra pounds of body weight. The contrast continues.
Handicapping Silva v. Pennington for Saturday
The old storylines of rest vs. rust and experience vs. youth both come into play in this fight. Pennington is the only of these two fighters who has been in the position to claim the bantamweight title before, having faced Nunes in 2018 for that belt. At the same time, Silva has been in the Octagon in live competition more recently.
Overall, Pennington has almost twice the number of UFC appearances under her belt as Silva. However, Silva was on a meteoric rise prior to her suspension last July due to testing positive for ritalinic acid and seemed the heir apparent to Nunes.
The statistics show that both of these fighters counter each other’s strengths. For example, Silva has 50% takedown accuracy to Pennington’s 27%. However, Pennington averages 0.93 takedowns per minute while Silva averages 0.35 in that regard.
Neither of these fighters make their money on the ground, both preferring to deal damage on their feet. The history and statistics for both fighters suggest that the longer the bout last, the more that favors Pennington.
DraftKings has Silva -162 on the moneyline to take the title and has set its round line at 4.5 rounds. Method of victory props and round props should be forthcoming at legal North American online sportsbooks.
