Dana White’s yearly spectacle of assembling a card to honor Mexican Independence Day suffers a big blow! Last year, UFC 306 inside the Sphere turned out to be the biggest gate event of all time! Pulling in a massive $22 million. But this year, the hype has taken a serious hit. What was originally planned as a pay-per-view event got downgraded to a Fight Night! All thanks to construction delays at the Guadalajara Arena. Since then, the card has been surrounded by nothing but controversy. And this time Raquel Pennington added another reason for the fans to display their disappointment.

At one point, the promotion aimed to bring back Alexander Volkanovski to defend his featherweight title against Yair Rodriguez. But fans weren’t exactly thrilled, especially after ‘The Great’ dominated ‘El Pantera’ in their first clash at UFC 290. The backlash only grew louder when the entire event was shifted to a Fight Night to avoid clashing with the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford showdown on September 13th. That move gave fans another reason to talk about the watered-down quality of the card.

Thankfully, the UFC added some much-needed firepower with a potential title eliminator between Diego Lopes and Jean Silva, two rising stars who could very well challenge Volkanovski next. Also on the lineup was a high-profile strawweight bout between Tatiana Suarez and Amanda Lemos, a fight that didn’t materialize last year but finally made its way onto this card. Former women’s bantamweight champ Raquel Pennington was also set to return after her UFC 307 defeat against Julianna Pena. But unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer to see ‘Rocky’ back in action.

Popular MMA news account MMA Orbit broke the bad news on X, writing, “Raquel Pennington has announced on Instagram that she has withdrawn from her scheduled #NocheUFC bout with Norma Dumont on September 13th.” Pennington took to Instagram herself and revealed she has been quietly battling a neck injury and has now decided to prioritize her health over competition.

In a lengthy post, she shared, “This one’s hard to say. I’ve been with the UFC for 12 years, 26 fights, and I’ve never had to pull out of a fight. I’ve been dealing with a neck injury for a while now. My last fight camp, I had a procedure in September just to get through it and step in that Octagon the beginning of October. This camp, it’s just been one thing after another.”

While Pennington’s message was heartfelt, fans didn’t exactly respond with sympathy. Many were frustrated and downright furious over the news. Some even went as far as demanding Dana White remove her from the roster entirely.

Fans demand Dana White cut Raquel Pennington after massive UFC Noche blunder

An angry fan didn’t waste any time and wrote bluntly, “Cut her.” The user wanted the UFC to straight-up axe Raquel Pennington from the promotion. Though it’s unclear whether that frustration came from her pulling out of the event or her overall fighting style. Another user added, “Card ruined.” And honestly, losing an anticipated matchup like that? It is a big blow.

On the other side, one fan seemed more heartbroken than mad, writing, “Truly heartbreaking not being able to see this former champ compete.” The whole UFC world was pumped to see Pennington’s return, especially to find out what tweaks she’d made to her game. But sometimes, injuries and setbacks hit at the worst time.

Another disappointed fan commented, “Oh no, time for Norma to actually fight a proper fighter.” As of now, it’s still unclear whether the UFC will find a replacement for Dumont or scrap the fight entirely. That comment was followed by another hot take, “She hasn’t been the same since being robbed for the belt by Pena.” We were all about to see if that version of Pennington still existed! But now, it remains a mystery unless ‘Rocky’ makes her return later. Hopefully by December. 

One fan didn’t hold back at all, taking a jab at her career by saying, “She might be top 5 worst champs ever lol.” Sure, Pennington shocked many when she captured the belt, but it’s also true that she couldn’t hold on to it for long. Julianna Peña snatched it from her at UFC 307.

That said, considering Pennington is dealing with neck issues, it’s safe to assume we might not see her back until the end of the year! If not longer. So, what are your thoughts on the former bantamweight champ pulling out of her UFC Noche fight? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.