Raquel Pennington went three hard rounds with Aspen Ladd on Saturday at UFC 273 and came out the winner on the scorecards.

Pennington (14-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) earned a unanimous decision win over Ladd (9-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) with 29-28 scores across the board, then proceeded to call out fellow former title challenger Sara McMann in a matchup to determine who should get the winner of the next championship bout between Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes.

The women’s bantamweight bout was part of the UFC 273 preliminary card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dominance on display

Make that 4-straight wins for @RockyPMMA!

[ #UFC273 | Prelims on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ]i pic.twitter.com/C50bZKNZoP

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022

The opening round was entirely a striking affair. Ladd and Pennington felt each other out in the opening moments, and as time wore on they got more tenacious and willing to step in the pocket to strike. Both women landed some solid blows, and it was a closely contested first five minutes.

As the action spilled into the second round, there were more striking exchanges. Ladd poked Pennington in the eye and was booed by the crowd, but the fight resumed and Pennington pushed the action back into close quarters by working in the clinch and against the fence. Pennington fended off Ladd’s takedown attempts, and started to gain momentum going into the final stanza.

Pennington was content to strike from range in the opening portion of the third and final round. She waited for the opportunity to work her way into the clinch and push her opponent to the fence, but Ladd turned the tide with a trip takedown to put Pennington on her back for the first time. Pennington stood back up but found herself dragged back to the canvas on multiple occasions. Ladd then controlled the pace of the fight agains the fence, and Pennington struggled to break free as the contest reached the final bell.

Ultimately, the judges favored Pennington’s work and gave her the nod.

“Sara, I have a lot of respect for you,” Pennington said in her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “But I think we should settle this for a title shot.”

Raquel Pennington edges Aspen Ladd and is coming for that wins record at 135! #UFC273 pic.twitter.com/v9IMWcUvHs

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) April 10, 2022

Up-to-the-minute UFC 273 results include:

• Raquel Pennington def. Aspen Ladd via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mike Malott def. Mickey Gall via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:41
• Aleksei Oleinik def. Jared Vanderaa via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 3:39
• Piera Rodriguez def. Kay Hansen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Julio Arce def. Daniel Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)