TUF 18 Finale results: Raquel Pennington gets past ‘TUF’ teammate Roxanne Modafferi

LAS VEGAS – Raquel Pennington had to survive a slow start, but once she got going she was too much for Roxanne Modafferi.

The teammates under coach Miesha Tate on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” went 15 minutes, but it was Pennington who walked away with a unanimous decision win, getting a pair of 30-27 scores despite the tentative first round.

The women’s bantamweight bout opened up the main card of today’s TUF 18 Finale event at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.

Modafferi stayed active early, bouncing outside for kicks and jabs. She was able to throw plenty of feints against Pennington and stayed a few steps quicker than Pennington. Late in the round, Pennington put together some good elbows along the fence, and peppered some good jabs, finally seeming to find her range. And a big right hand landed for Pennington right before the horn.

Pennington started to pick things up quickly in the second round, trying to build off the momentum she had at the end of the first. The fight went to the canvas two minutes in, and Modafferi worked toward a triangle choke, then considered an armbar while trying to fend off Pennington’s ground-and-pound attempts. With a minute left, the two went back to the feet, where Pennington landed some solid lefts, and Modafferi landed some good knees before the close.

Pennington kept Modafferi backing up early in the second, and landed quite a few short punches in the process. Midway through, Modafferi wanted a takedown after being stunned with a pair of punches, but Pennington wound up on top looking to land strikes on the canvas. Modafferi worked for submissions, but Pennington pushed through them and continued to land punches on the ground.

Modafferi got back to her feet with 40 seconds left, but Pennington tied her up with a standing guillotine. The fight hit the canvas, and Pennington tightened the choke. It looked like Modafferi might tap, but she instead tried to punch her way out. She survived the lengthy choke with Pennington in full mount, but only to see her opponent’s hand raised.

“I’m happy with the win, but knowing my capabilities I didn’t fight my best fight,” Pennington said. “I wasn’t happy because I have very fast hands and I didn’t really display those. Maybe it was because of my nerves. I mean, when I woke up I was incredibly nervous. Then when I started warming up, I felt better and by the time I got in the octagon, it felt no different than being in my gym at home.”

“I’m most grateful for the support of my coaches, fans, family and friends,” Modafferi said. “I feel all their energy when I fight and I wanted to win for them. My hope is that they get to see my fight again, because they are all so important to me.”

Pennington (4-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) snapped a two-fight losing skid to win for the first time in more than a year. Modafferi (15-11 MMA, 0-1 UFC) now has lost six straight fights and seven of her past nine.

Up-to-the-minute TUF 18 Finale results include:

• Raquel Pennington def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Akira Corassani def. Maximo Blanco via disqualification (illegal knee) – Round 1, 0:25
• Tom Niinimaki def. Rani Yahya via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Jared Rosholt def. Walter Harris via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Sean Spencer def. Drew Dober via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Joshua Sampo def. Ryan Benoit via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:31

For complete coverage of the TUF 18 Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Las Vegas.