Compare Raquel Pennington vs Robert Whittaker — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
- Raquel has 9 months more layoff
- Robert is speeding up while opponent slows
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Women's Bantamweight roster (31 fighters). Raquel Pennington fights at Women's Bantamweight; Robert Whittaker at Middleweight — Robert Whittaker’s percentiles are measured against a division they don’t compete in, so read them with that in mind.
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Raquel Pennington | Robert Whittaker |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 1-4 | 0-4 |
| Top-5 | 4-1 | 9-2 |
| Top-15 | 5-1 | 4-0 |
| Cross-div ranked | 2-0 | — |
| Title-fight challenger | — | 1-0 |
| Building | — | 1-1 |
| Unproven | 1-0 | 2-0 |
- L vs Julianna Pena#198Oct 5, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Mayra Bueno Silva#386Jan 20, 2024 · Top-5
- W vs Ketlen Vieira#287Jan 14, 2023 · Top-5
- W vs Aspen Ladd#488Apr 9, 2022 · Top-5
- W vs Macy Chiasson45Dec 18, 2021 · Cross-div ranked
- W vs Pannie Kianzad#1272Sep 18, 2021 · Top-15
- W vs Marion Reneau#1073Jun 20, 2020 · Top-15
- L vs Holly Holm#394Jan 18, 2020 · Champion
- W vs Irene Aldana#981Jul 20, 2019 · Top-5
- L vs Germaine de Randamie#589Nov 10, 2018 · Top-5
- L vs Amanda NunesCHAMP100May 12, 2018 · Champion
- W vs Miesha Tate#197Nov 12, 2016 · Champion
- W vs Elizabeth Phillips8Aug 20, 2016 · Unproven
- W vs Bethe Correia#873Apr 16, 2016 · Top-15
- W vs Jessica Andrade#1371Sep 5, 2015 · Top-15
- L vs Holly Holm#1387Feb 28, 2015 · Champion
- W vs Ashlee Evans-Smith46Dec 6, 2014 · Top-15
- L vs Jessica Andrade#973Mar 15, 2014 · Top-15
- W vs Roxanne Modafferi32Nov 30, 2013 · Cross-div ranked
- L vs Reinier de Ridder#1275Jul 26, 2025 · Top-5
- L vs Khamzat Chimaev#1288Oct 26, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Ikram Aliskerov42Jun 22, 2024 · Top-15
- W vs Paulo Costa#683Feb 17, 2024 · Top-5
- L vs Dricus Du Plessis#691Jul 8, 2023 · Champion
- W vs Marvin Vettori#287Sep 3, 2022 · Top-5
- L vs Israel AdesanyaCHAMP100Feb 12, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Kelvin Gastelum#880Apr 17, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Jared Cannonier#386Oct 24, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Darren Till#580Jul 25, 2020 · Top-5
- L vs Israel Adesanya#197Oct 5, 2019 · Champion
- W vs Yoel Romero#190Jun 9, 2018 · Top-5
- W vs Yoel Romero#190Jul 8, 2017 · Top-5
- W vs Jacare Souza#388Apr 15, 2017 · Top-5
- W vs Derek Brunson#878Nov 26, 2016 · Top-5
- W vs Rafael Natal#1364Apr 23, 2016 · Top-15
- W vs Uriah Hall#1071Nov 14, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Brad Tavares#1468May 9, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Clint Hester18Nov 7, 2014 · Building
- W vs Mike Rhodes8Jun 28, 2014 · Unproven
- L vs Stephen Thompson65Feb 22, 2014 · Top-5
- L vs Court McGee18Aug 28, 2013 · Building
- W vs Colton Smith8May 25, 2013 · Unproven
- W vs Brad Scott50Dec 14, 2012 · Title-fight challenger
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
Evenly matched striking — no clear edge either way.
Where Pennington attacks (green = high volume) vs where Whittaker gets hit (red = vulnerable) — Pennington’s green zones meeting Whittaker’s red zones are the openings.
- Head58%56th690
- Body31%89th371
- Leg11%48th132
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head57%59th624
- Body20%47th217
- Leg23%25th256
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing62%734
- Clinch30%358
- Ground8%101
- Standing84%920
- Clinch10%114
- Ground6%63
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Raquel Pennington | above division average35.4 | 38% | above division average29.8 | 690 |
| Head | Robert Whittaker | top 23% of division45.1 | 37% | above division average29.7 | 1,015 |
| Body | Raquel Pennington | top 11% of division18.1 | 83% | below division average13.7 | 371 |
| Body | Robert Whittaker | well below average7.6 | 61% | around division average10.2 | 153 |
| Leg | Raquel Pennington | around division average7.0 | 89% | around division average7.4 | 132 |
| Leg | Robert Whittaker | top 25% of division11.8 | 85% | well below average11.4 | 267 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Evenly matched grappling — no clear edge either way.
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Raquel Pennington | Robert Whittaker |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 0.816 | 0.716 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 28%16 / 58 | 38%16 / 42 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 63%40 / 64 | 82%73 / 89 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 0.612 | 0.00 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 3.4 min66:21 | 1.2 min26:39 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 3.8 min73:46 | 1.6 min34:13 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Raquel Pennington | Robert Whittaker |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 1(6%) | 10(38%) |
| by submission | 4(25%) | 5(19%) |
| by decision | 11(69%) | 11(42%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 1(11%) | 3(33%) |
| by submission | 1(11%) | 2(22%) |
| by decision | 7(78%) | 4(44%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dvs Amanda Nunes8y 1mo agoUFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington · May 12, 2018 · R5 · 2:36
- Last time submittedNever submitted in the UFC
- Last time KO'dvs Dricus Du Plessis2y 11mo agoUFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez · Jul 8, 2023 · R2 · 2:23
- Last time submittedvs Khamzat Chimaev1y 7mo agoUFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway · Oct 26, 2024 · R1 · 3:34
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
Cardio edge to Pennington: Pennington builds (+10% per round through round 5) while Whittaker holds steady (+2% per round through round 5). Within fights that reached round 3, Pennington lifts to 149% of round-1 output by round 3, Whittaker 116%.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Raquel Pennington | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.19 | 12% | 19 |
| R1 | Robert Whittaker | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 0.08 | 8% | 24 |
| R2 | Raquel Pennington | 6.3 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 0.19 | 24% | 18 |
| R2 | Robert Whittaker | 5.1 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 0.05 | 4% | 19 |
| R3 | Raquel Pennington | 6.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 0.26 | 31% | 16 |
| R3 | Robert Whittaker | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 0.14 | 12% | 15 |
| R4 | Raquel Pennington | 5.7 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 0.13 | 28% | 3 |
| R4 | Robert Whittaker | 4.5 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 0.13 | 3% | 6 |
| R5 | Raquel Pennington | 7.5 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 0.00 | 36% | 3 |
| R5 | Robert Whittaker | 5.6 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 0.50 | 18% | 6 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.