Video: Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena stare daggers at each other during tense UFC 307 faceoff

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

It was a tale of two faceoffs to end the UFC 307 pre-fight press conference. Main event fighters staying stoic while the co-main event competitors could cut glass with the stares they were giving each other.

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira showed no emotion as he came face-to-face with unlikely challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. on Thursday. Pereira looked as intimidating as ever, but he didn’t get too aggressive during the faceoff, while Rountree just kept looking ahead as he prepares for the biggest opportunity of his career.

That was vastly different from the co-main event where Raquel Pennington and Julianna Peña were staring holes through each other during a tense moment with matchmaker Sean Shelby keeping a close eye on things.

Nothing was said during the faceoff, but the look from each fighter was worth a thousand words.

For Pennington, the showdown serves as a culmination of a fight she’s wanted for the past 11 years after she counted Pena as one of her roommates on The Ultimate Fighter season 18. As for Pena, she hopes to reclaim the title she lost in her last appearance back in 2022 when she suffered a one-sided defeat to Amanda Nunes.