Raquel Pennington suffered a TKO loss against Amanda Nunes at UFC 224. Despite a resilient performance from Pennington, what made headlines was her corner’s decision to send her out for the fifth round despite Pennington saying that she was done after the fourth.
The whole incident went on to become the biggest talking point out of UFC 224. Tecia Torres had given a statement on behalf of Pennington last day, and now, Pennington herself has opened up about the incident.
She did the same during her appearance on the MMA Hour this Monday and revealed that she was proud of her coaches.
“I’m actually proud of my coaches. I know a lot of people are going against what they said and thinking all this different stuff, and it’s easy to judge, but you never know what’s happening in that moment. At the end of the day, my coaches know me best. They know my toughness and they know what I can handle, and I trust my coaches with everything that I have, and I know they wouldn’t put me in a situation that I can’t handle. I was going through a moment where I was obviously frustrated because of the facts with my legs. I was scared to step in and actually let my hands go, because the minute I would start to close the distance, Amanda would attack the leg,” she said. (Via MMA Fighting)
Agree with the coaches
Pennington added that she agreed with her coaches throughout the incident and further defended them.
“I agreed with my coaches as soon as the fight was done. I agreed with them in that moment, because at the end of the day, the ball’s still in my court. I could’ve easily waved off the fight. I could’ve sat down and tapped out. But I choose not to. I choose to pull my head out of my ass, basically, and not give up on myself. Because at the end of the day, when you give up, it’s a whole different ballgame there. Quitting’s not an option in that aspect, and in that moment, I was quitting on myself. And that’s when a coach steps in and they push their athlete,” she added.
After UFC 224, Pennington is now 9-6 in her career and will be looking to bounce back from the setback in her next outing.
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