Raquel Pennington shoots down the idea of Kayla Harrison skipping the line for a UFC title shot: “I just don’t find that fair”

Raquel Pennington is shooting down the idea of Kayla Harrison skipping the line for a UFC title shot.

Pennington (16-9 MMA) is the current UFC’s woman’s bantamweight champion and has her own thoughts concerning the arrival of Kayla Harrison (16-1 MMA) to the UFC stage.

Harrison, 33, fought under the PFL banner from 2018 to 2023.  The Ohio native was the 2019 and 2021 PFL’s woman’s lightweight world champion.

It was only two weeks ago that UFC CEO, Dana White, announced Kayla Harrison had officially signed on with the UFC and would be making her debut at the historic UFC 300. Harrison will face Holly Holm (15-6 MMA) in a bantamweight bout on Saturday, April 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Following the announcement, Harrison took to social media saying:

“My Time is Now.”

“I’m coming for UFC gold.”

During an appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’ with Ariel Helwani, Raquel Pennington addressed Kayla Harrison and her arrival onto the UFC scene:

“Anything can change. I’m not opposed to it (defending the title against Harrison), but at the same time, I just don’t find that fair. I’m speaking on behalf of everybody because I’ve been that athlete for a long time. Nothing was ever handed to me. I’ve had to work my way to the top the very hard way, time and time again.”

Continuing Pennington shared (h/t MMANews):

“So, it really frustrates me when other athletes come in and all of a sudden, they just jump the line. There’s plenty of athletes who are here, they’ve been here for a long time, they’re busting their ass every single day, they’re trying to grind through each and every fight and build things for themselves to work their way to that same opportunity. I feel like she (Harrison) doesn’t deserve to just skip the line because she has a huge name.”

Do you agree with Raquel Pennington that Kayla Harrison is not deserving of ‘skipping the line’ and getting a title shot in the UFC?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!