Former women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington has been forced out of her scheduled matchup against Norma Dumont at Noche UFC 3 scheduled on Sept. 13 in San Antonio.
Pennington revealed the unfortunate news in a post on Instagram late Wednesday night.
“This one’s hard to say…I’ve been with the UFC for 12 years, 26 fights, and I’ve never had to pull out of a fight,” Pennington wrote. “Most of you know I’ve been dealing with a neck injury for a while now. My last fight camp, I had a procedure in September just to get through it and step in that Octagon the beginning of October. This camp… it’s just been one thing after another.
“I’m a competitor through and through, but I also have to take care of my health if I want to keep doing this the right way. So yeah… I’m gutted to say I have to withdraw from this fight. Apologies to the fans, UFC and my opponent Norma Dumont. I’ll be back, and I still would love to share that Octagon with Norma when the time’s right.”
Pennington didn’t explain the exact injury she suffered or how long she’s expected to remain out of action.
The news comes with Pennington already out of action for nearly a year with her most recent appearance coming in October 2024 when she lost a close decision to Julianna Pena in a fight that cost her the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
Prior to that setback, Pennington had rattled off six straight wins including her victory over Mayra Bueno Silva to claim the vacant title after Amanda Nunes retired.
Now it appears Pennington will have to wait until an even later date to make her return to action.
As for Dumont, it’s also tough news for her as she was seeking the biggest opportunity of her career with a chance to potentially earn a title shot of her own with a win. Dumont has won five fights in a row with an 8-1 resume in her past nine outings as she continued to climb the rankings.
With Pennington out, Dumont has to hope the UFC can find her a suitable replacement as she’s also been out of action for nearly a year.
The upcoming Noche UFC 3 card is headlined by a featherweight showdown as one-time title challenger Diego Lopes takes on rising star Jean Silva in a five-round fight.
