Raquel Len Pennington[3] (born September 5, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.

[5] Pennington grew up playing many sports from basketball, softball, volleyball, running cross country and always wanted to box.

She graduated from Harrison High School in 2007 as secretary of the National Honors Society, with many athletic and academic scholarships.

[11] In August 2013, Pennington was announced as a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs.

[12] She defeated veteran Tonya Evinger via submission due to a guillotine choke in the second round and was the third female pick of Team Tate.

Pennington defeated Duke via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 29–28)[14] and the performance earned both participants Fight of The Season honors.

[15] Advancing to the semi-final, Pennington next faced former boxing champion Jessica Rakoczy in the final episode of the series.

[16] Pennington made her promotional debut against TUF 18 team mate Roxanne Modafferi on November 30, 2013, at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale.

[17] For her second fight with the promotion, Pennington replaced an injured Julianna Peña against Jéssica Andrade on March 15, 2014, at UFC 171.

[20] Pennington won the fight via technical submission due to a bulldog choke at the end of the first round.

[39] Pennington faced Marion Reneau on June 20, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs.

[41] Pennington accepted a six-month USADA suspension after self-reporting a doping violation upon realizing she had ingested banned substances, 7-Keto-DHEA and AOD-9064, prescribed by her doctor to treat a medical condition.

[44] Pennington was scheduled to face Julia Avila on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 199.

[49] Pennington faced Aspen Ladd, replacing Irene Aldana, on April 9, 2022, at UFC 273.

[54] However on May 2, 2023, it was announced that Aldana would instead replace an injured Julianna Peña in headlining UFC 289 on June 10, 2023, in a Bantamweight Championship match against champion Amanda Nunes.