After receiving a hailstorm of criticism in the aftermath of UFC 224 for allowing Raquel Pennington to enter the fifth round after telling them that she was “done,” Tecia Torres has spoken up on behalf of the Pennington camp via an Instagram post:
“Both us and our coaches agree with the decision made to go into the 5th round. We know Raquel more than anyone else and know if we let her give up on herself going into the last round she would have always regretted it. She fought with heart and grit until the end.“
Raquel Pennington challenged Amanda Nunes in the UFC 224 main event last night. After a competitive first two rounds, Nunes took over the fight and seemed to have broken the nose of the challenger. In between the fourth and final round, Raquel Pennington could be heard telling her corner “I’m done,” to which she was met with a pep talk to give it all she’s got. Miesha Tate, another mentor of Pennington, has also stepped forward to agree with the way the Pennington corner handled the situation:
“I would have done the same thing if I were in her corner’s shoes. It’s important that a fighter loses with dignity, and I think Raquel lost with dignity. She went out there, and she got finished. She went out on her shield. And I would have done the same thing because sometimes when you’re tired and you don’t think you have enough left, your coach’s job is to pull the most out of you. And I think that’s what the corner was trying to do is not let her give up on herself…get her back in the game mentally.”
The entire Torres Instagram post can be found below.
What Would You Have Done if You Were in the Pennington Corner at UFC 224?
