‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ Holly Holm makes a return to the octagon in the early hours of Sunday morning (UK time). This is on the undercard of the Conor McGregor v Donald Cerrone fight in Las Vegas.
Last July, Holms suffered a TKO in the opening round of her bout against Amanda Nunes and it has been a severe dip in her career since that famous night in 2015 against Ronda Rousey.
Holms and Pennington were meant to have already met, but Holm pulled out of a scheduled UFC 243 meeting in October last year because of injury.
Read our Raquel Pennington vs Holly Holm betting tip for more details.
Raquel Pennington v Holly Holm odds*
Holly Holm 8/11
Raquel Pennington 11/10
* (betting odds taken from William Hill on January 15th, 2020 at 2:25 pm)
Masters UFC Betting at William Hill
Table of Contents
Can Holm bounce back?
Holm was standing tall and centre stage in 2015 when a head kick knocked reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight holder Ronda Rousey off of her perch. That should have propelled Holm to the next level, but things haven’t gone to plan since.
Holm lost her first title defence in early March the following year against Miesha Tate. That sparked a run of five losses in seven bouts for Holm. That included a loss on her Featherweight debut against Germaine de Randamie.
She also lost a title challenge against Cris Cyborg and then came that brutal defeat against Nunes as she stepped back up to Bantamweight. here were rumours that she was going to retire after the Nunes loss, in which Holm made mistakes.
Head to head
Holm and Pennington have met before. That was back in 2015 in which Pennington took the win on a split decision. The careers of both of them have changed a lot since then.
Key-Facts – Raquel Pennington vs Holly Holm
- Holm has lost five of her last seven bouts
- Both have suffered knockouts against Amanda Nunes
- Pennington has only one TKO against her in her career
Can Pennington pull off the upset?
31-year-old Raquel Pennington stepped away from UFA after causing an upset with a victory over Miesha Tate in November 2016. That was arguaby, one of the bigger wins of her career. But on her return, the promise that she showed there hasn’t quite been fulfilled.
She returned with a nightmare of a bout as she faced Amanda Nunes in 2018. To her credit, Pennington stuck the distance before being knocked out in the final round. Another defeat came her way later in the year against Germaine de Randamie.
She was back in action in July last year beating Irene Aldana on a split decision, all of which has left her with a 10-7 career record in UFA.
Raquel Pennington v Holly Holm Prediction and tip
Holm has to be the pick between two fighters looking for a win to re-establish their careers a little bit. Without question, it is Holm who brings the better skill-set with striking. So as long as she can keep herself largely out of a wrestling scrap, she can take the win.
It’s worth backing the fight to go the distance, however. Pennington has only been knocked out once in her career, which was against Nunes. So, therefore, it is Holm by a Decision at 11/10 which is the pick for this UFC prediction* (betting odds taken from William Hill on January 15th, 2020 at 2:25 pm).
