Tecia Pennington Considers Future Fights vs. Family Plans After dern’s Title Win
LAS VEGAS - Veteran strawweight contender Tecia Pennington is at a crossroads, weighing potential championship aspirations against her desire to start a family. Following juliana Pena’s recent victory over rose Namajunas to reclaim the flyweight title, Pennington finds herself evaluating her options after a competitive career marked by battles against every former strawweight champion.
Pennington, 36, is the only fighter in the 115-pound division to have faced all six previous titleholders – Marina Rodriguez, Zhang Weili, Rose Namajunas, Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, and most recently, Mackenzie Dern. While her sole victory against a former champion came against Joanna Esparza at UFC 307, Pennington has consistently pushed former and future champions to the limit in 15-minute contests, solidifying her position as a top contender.
The recent title win by Dern, whom pennington faced at UFC 273, has prompted reflection. “I wish I fought more frequently enough,” Pennington admitted. “I wish I got three in a year instead of two because when you take six to eight months off, that’s a long time off for somebody who is 36, and I’m wanting to go to my next chapter and continue to grow my family.”
Pennington stated she ideally wants a fight within two months if she secures a win this weekend. However, she acknowledged that a prolonged wait could shift her focus. “If I didn’t get it, I would probably try to continue to move on with growing my family meanwhile. it’s not gonna happen overnight, and I would still take a fight if it didn’t happen, but ideally, I’d like to win and have a fight within eight weeks, provided I don’t have any injuries or anything like that. But this six or eight months is a long time to wait.”
