In combat sports, the concept of an interim championship relates to a stopgap by the promotion when the permanent champion of a weight class can’t defend his or her title for whatever reason. With the UFC beginning its 2025 schedule of events one week from Saturday night in Enterprise, NV for UFC Vegas 101, Dana White‘s promotion may need to go the route of such a championship at 135 lbs later on in the new year.
Although nothing has been set in stone as of yet, the possibility of holding a contest for the interim championship at women’s bantamweight looms should current titlist Julianna Pena (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) find herself unable to make the walk for her next defense of the permanent title. Three months ago, Pena made a successful bid to reclaim the top spot at 135 versus Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-6 UFC) in a fight that was ripe with controversy.
Pena’s victory over Pennington during UFC 307’s co-main attraction this past fall was her first fight in the UFC since a July 10, 2023 rematch against Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) was scrubbed after Pena withdrew from the show. In lieu of the rematch, Nunes bested Irene Aldana (15-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) for the title.
Julianna Pena releases statement after pulling out of UFC 289 title fight against Amanda Nunes 👇🏼 #UFC289 #MMA https://t.co/RXfAMLsZWg
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) May 5, 2023
UFC Aiming For Possible Interim Championship Fight at Women’s Bantamweight
Currently, former PFL Women’s Lightweight Champion Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) sits as the second-ranked contender at bantamweight after securing a unanimous decision victory over Ketlen Viera back in October. She’s firmly in the hunt for the title at 135, but if the comments made by her manager Ali Abdelaziz are any indication, her first bid at a strap in MMA’s top organization will be for an interim championship.
“This is what I have been told: Julianna Pena, if she’s not ready to fight Kayla, she might have some health problems, it’s going to be [for] an interim [championship] title,” Abdelaziz began. “100 percent, this is what’s going to happen.”
Ali Abdelaziz In Favor of Interim Championship Shot for Kayla Harrison Should it Come to Pass
During that same interview with Mike Bohn of USA Today’s MMA Junkie, Ali Abdelaziz mentioned that he backs the possibility of an opportunity for an interim championship when it comes to his client.
“The UFC is just not going to hold the division because someone doesn’t want to fight or is injured,” Abdelaziz continued. “If you are out more than eight [or] nine months, then UFC should make an interim title, and I love that. I don’t think any division should be held [up] because someone is injured. If you, as the champion, defend your title a lot, I think you get this courtesy, but if you just become the champion and want to take a year off, I don’t think you should get this courtesy.”
Abdelaziz Hoping for Raquel Pennington as Harrison’s Adversary in Interim Championship Fight
As previously mentioned, Julianna Pena bested Raquel Pennington during the first weekend of October to win the permanent title at bantamweight, but the scorecards left fans the world over scratching their heads, along with Pennington herself. In the aftermath of the contest between Pena and Pennington, the latter mentioned that her relatives were prepared to join her in the famed Octagon for a championship celebration that had to be put on ice.
“The three people who had the best seat in the house, the entire world, the entire media, like everybody in the UFC was for me, then all of a sudden, it’s like ‘Oh, her,'”, Pennington recalls. “I think that says a lot, especially when your name got called.”
With a possible interim championship fight in the offing at women’s bantamweight, Ali Abdelaziz firmly believes that Raquel Pennington should be across the way from Kayla Harrison should the fight come to pass.
“This is what she deserves,” he said of Harrison’s potential next opponent. “I’m not the matchmakers. There’s a guy from Houston, TX named Mick Maynard who does that and it’s his job.”
Sizing up Pennington and Harrison in an Interim Championship Fight
As of this writing, neither Raquel Pennington nor Kayla Harrison have been booked to fight in 2025. If these two competitors were to meet in an interim championship contest, Kayla Harrison would be the taller combatant at 5-foot-8, compared to Raquel Pennington at 5-foot-7.
Pennington owns a 1 1/2-inch reach advantage (67 1/2 inches to 66 inches even) over Harrison, with both fighters holding identical leg reaches of 37 inches. If this bout comes to pass, the kicking game will be a key aspect to watch for.
Raquel Pennington would enter this interim championship fight having posted a mark of 4-1 over her last five fights. Prior to the loss to Pena, she scored a unanimous decision victory against Mayra Bueno Silva (10-4-1, 1 NC MMA, 5-4-1, 1 NC UFC) on Jan. 20 of last year.
On the other side of the Octagon, Kayla Harrison is sporting a record of 4-1 in her last five contests dating back to August of 2022. Last April, during her UFC promotional debut, the former Olympian in judo submitted Holly Holm (15-7, 1 NC MMA, 8-7, 1 NC UFC) by way of second-round rear-naked choke on the late prelims of UFC 300.
