Opportunities arise in the strangest places in mixed martial arts, but Jessica Penne was ready when the biggest moment of her career came to call.
The former atomweight turned UFC women's strawweight contender was training for her upcoming bout against Juliana Lima, set to take place on May 30 at Fight Night 67, when word came that there had been a change of plans. The 32-year-old Californian would no longer be traveling to Brazil with the hopes of scrapping her way into a title shot, instead, the championship opportunity she'd been envisioning since her arrival in the UFC was coming in short order.