Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana 2 set to headline UFC Vegas 73 in May

UFC women's bantamweights Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana are set to run it back and headline a UFC Fight Night card on May 20 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The two fighters last met in July 2019 on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards. Aldana started off on the front foot in the first round but Pennington pulled it back in the next two frames to ultimately win the tight contest via split decision.

Both fighters have only lost once since their 2019 bout, but Pennington has enjoyed a stronger record lately with an additional win and a five-fight win streak. She last lost a fight in January 2020 against Holly Holm at UFC 246.

Aldana, on the other hand, has lost one of her last five fights. Notably, her loss also came at the hands of Holm. The Mexican is coming off a splendid knockout win against Macy Chiasson, an upkick to the body that also won her the Performance of the Night bonus.

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Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana: Next bantamweight challenger?

Raquel Pennington is currently ranked No.2 on the women's bantamweight ladder, while Irene Aldana sits three spots behind her at No.5. Both fighters are likely one win away from a title shot.

No.1-ranked contender and former bantamweight champion Julianna Pena will face off against 135-pound queen Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 in June.

The trilogy match will finally settle the Nunes-Pena rivalry, and the next title challenger for the title could be decided by the Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana Fight Night headliner.

'Rocky' will hope to win her sixth straight bout and fight the winner of the UFC 289 main event. Her Mexican counterpart will aim to continue her streak of finishing three of her last four opponents and put her explosive power to use.

UFC Fight Night: Pennington vs. Aldana will also feature a welterweight clash between Orion Cosce and Gilbert Urbina and a middleweight bout featuring Edmen Shahbazyan and Anthony Hernandez.

Another confirmed bout so far is a heavyweight matchup between Ilir Latifi and Brazilian Rodrigo Nascimento. Joaquin Buckley will also fight on the card, making his UFC welterweight debut against Andre Fialho.