Amanda Nunes' next title defense is set.

The reigning bantamweight queen will put her strap on the line against Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 on May 12 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, sources told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani on Friday following reports from MMAjunkie and Combate.

It remains to be seen whether the tilt will headline the card.

Nunes and Pennington had briefly been expected to meet at UFC 219 in December, only for the challenger to suffer a horrific leg injury in a hunting accident this past October. The champ was then attached to a future clash of champions with featherweight titleholder Cris Cyborg earlier this year, but the latter ultimately opted to defend her crown against the debuting Yana Kunitskaya on short notice at next week's UFC 222.

The 29-year-old Nunes dispatched Miesha Tate in under a round to claim the title at UFC 200, and has since defended it with a 48-second knockout of Ronda Rousey and a razor-close split decision over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 207 and 215, respectively.

Pennington makes her first bid for promotional gold on a four-fight win streak, most recently spoiling Tate's retirement bout in a unanimous verdict at UFC 205 two Novembers ago. She's gotten her hand raised in six of eight fights under the outfit's banner.