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We’re back for another day of the SB Nation UFC in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re switching to a system of a new article each day for the game.
We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each new article. That way, you can catch up if you miss a day.
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The goal of the game is to guess the correct random UFC fighter player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED FIGHTERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the MMA Fighting layout each morning, with occasional movement later in the day.
After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media.
Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Khalil Rountree Jr. came up short at UFC 307, but he didn’t take for granted the long path he took to get there.
In Saturday’s main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Rountree went toe-to-toe with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira before eventually succumbing to strikes in Round 4. Though Rountree was covered in blood by the end of the bout, he gave the former kickboxing star a run for his money in the striking department, and afterwards he told Joe Rogan that his mood wasn’t dampened by the loss.
“My thought coming into this fight was just to be grateful, really,” Rountree said in his post-fight interview. “I’ve been doing all this for a long time and everybody heard my story, but I was just really excited to come in here, and I really just embraced the moment all the way up until this moment.”
“No, I don’t think I was surprised [by Pereira’s striking] at all,” Pereira continued. “I thought that I was going to be able to hit him a lot more, but he did a really good job at evading the punches and counter-striking.”
Before Rountree could finish his thought, he had to blow a bloody stream of snot out to clear his nose. The gruesome gesture was a fitting exclamation point for one of the most violent fights of 2024.
Rountree, who went from Ultimate Fighter finalist to UFC title challenger over an eight-year stretch, had nothing but love for the crowd in Salt Lake City and vowed to compete in Utah sometime in the future.
“I’ll never forget this training camp my whole life,” Rountree said. “You guys have been so f*cking awesome. I would love to come back anytime, train at altitude, fight here again, I love you guys. I swear to God I’ll be back one day.”
Alex Pereira came out on top in his latest title defense, but his journey to UFC 307 could have been cut short on a number of occasions.
Following his thrilling main event win over Khalil Rountree Jr. on Saturday in Salt Lake City, the reigning light heavyweight champion revealed to reporters his preparation for the fight was laden with maladies and misfortune.
“The fight was really tough, but only my team really knows how tough this camp was,” Pereira said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I went through a lot of stuff that nobody really knows about. I was Brazil over a month ago, I had some problems with my visa, I was going over to the consulate every single day trying to see if my passport was ready to be picked up. Finally made it back to the U.S., spent about a week in Connecticut, been here for three weeks, in that meantime I was on antibiotics. I had a fever, I had a bad throat, and a lot of things happened.
“Also, going back, when I was in Brazil I hurt my rib. It was an injury that I had about a year ago and it came back, so that was also something that I was dealing with. Then when I came here, my throat was still bad. I went to the doctor, had another round of antibiotics. I even recorded a video-at the time, I said in the video I would show it if I won, so we can put that out at some point-but I went through a lot. Also, the ligament in my toe that was hurt from UFC 300, that came back. There’s a lot of things that I went through in this camp. It was a tough fight, but it was a tough lead-up to this fight, and I actually feel really proud of myself at this moment.”
Injuries piling up for Pereira might be expected given his hectic 2024 campaign. UFC 307 marked Pereira’s third title defense of the year and his fourth championship fight since November 2023. “Poatan” has become one of MMA’s most popular figures both due to his spectacular performances and the frequency with which he delivers them.
But don’t think for a second he wants to make it a habit of overcoming adversity.
“I’d honestly rather not go through what I went through because the body suffers,” Pereira said. “You suffer physically, but the mind is really what suffers in these cases, so I’d rather not have to go through that.”
It’s Pereira’s opponents that typically take the brunt of the damage when he steps into the cage, though Rountree was hardly a punching bag. Known as the “Glory Killer” for scoring wins over Glory Kickboxing veterans Gokhan Saki, Karl Roberson, and Dustin Jacoby, Rountree threatened to live up to his nickname at several points in Saturday’s fight as he traded heavy strikes with Pereira.
In the end, Pereira’s famed finishing ability shined and he beat Rountree down with a barrage of strikes in Round 4. He then stated his intentions to stay at light heavyweight rather than chase a title in another division, which could set him up to face the winner of the upcoming UFC 308 contest between top contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic.
Just don’t expect Pereira to hop back into the cage so soon again as even he has to admit his level of activity has become difficult to manage.
“For sure, it’s a lot,” Pereira said. “I think that there is a limit. I want to push myself as much as I can. I’m 37 and I want to take advantage of time, but I do need to take a break. I have some commitments in Mexico and Korea and Malta … I need to take some time off, but I’m going to be training.”
Mario Bautista punches Jose Aldo | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Mario Bautista scored the biggest victory of his career Saturday, winning a close split decision against UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, but many people disagreed with the judges’ call — including MMA superstar Conor McGregor.
“The Notorious” took on social media Saturday night to call the result a “dirt” and “bullsh*t” decision, and Bautista responded during his UFC 307 post-fight media scrum.
“Conor can kiss my a** and he can fight whenever he’s supposed to,” Bautista said. “Take the fight against [Michael] Chandler. Shut up.”
McGregor complained on social media that Bautista “was shooting in just to hold him against the fence”, and “that’s not good enough”. The Irishman believes the referee Mike Beltran should have separated them because there is “no point prolonging these positions as if they haven’t taken place exactly the same way prior and nothing has taken place but [stalling].”
Bautista explained his strategy, citing Merab Dvalishvili’s performance against Aldo — also in Salt Lake City — as reference.
“The performance is what it is. Had to do what I had to do,” Bautista said. “I got cut in the second round. I got hit with something pretty good. I was able to drive him through the fence. He has good takedown defense, but he cannot get off the cage. That’s not my fault, you know? If that was me, I’m able to circle off the cage. So whatever the crowd thinks, whatever everyone thinks, I mean, that’s on him.
“He wasn’t getting off the fence and I’m not gonna let him off the fence. And I try to take him down, he’s good right there. And like you said, that’s something Marab did, and now look at him, he’s the champ. … I thought I did enough. Striking wise he was getting after a little bit but like I said, he just gave up a lot of time on the cage, so that that’s on him.”
Bautista said he was not worried about the boos because boors os cheers, “it’s energy” for him. Now 15-2 as a professional and riding a long winning streak, Bautista said he’s open to facing Henry Cejudo next.
“We’ll see who comes up,” Bautista said. “I was thinking [Cory] Sandhagen, but he’s kind of coming off a loss I’m a seven in a row now. Someone that’s been calling out [Sean] O’Malley, [and] O’Malley just lost, so if Henry Cejudo wants to fight, we could do that too.”
Julianna Pena had the chance to start promoting her next title defense after reclaiming the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 307 but instead turned her attention to an unlikely rematch against a fighter who is currently retired.
Following a controversial win over Raquel Pennington in the UFC 307 co-main event, Pena was asked about what’s next for her and a split screen showed Kayla Harrison backstage waiting to react after she defeated Ketlen Vieira earlier in the night to earn a title shot. Rather than acknowledge Harrison, who the UFC is pretty clearly naming as the No. 1 contender, Pena asked for a trilogy against Amanda Nunes, who called it a career back in June 2023.
“I will say this — she dropped the ball on the callout,” UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said when addressing Pena after UFC 307 ended. “I mean Kayla’s on the screen. Say her name. Why no sell the person that is clearly going to be your No. 1 contender?
“There is no world where she does not fight Kayla Harrison. She’s fighting her next. You might as well put the sell on it.”
Harrison moved to 2-0 in the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Vieira in the opening bout on the main card on Saturday. While not as dominant as her debut performance against former champion Holly Holm at UFC 300, Harrison still delivered a win against one of the UFC’s top ranked challengers to cement her spot as the rightful contender at 135 pounds.
During the broadcast, Harrison could only shake her head in disappointment as Pena called for the Nunes fight despite UFC color commentator Joe Rogan specifically mentioning the two-time Olympic gold medalist as her most likely next opponent.
Cormier believes Pena should have started building towards that fight now rather than waiting because there’s almost no world where Harrison isn’t her next opponent.
“Don’t wait until the fight is announced,” Cormier said. “Now you’re a step behind when you had the opportunity to be a step ahead going into your fight with Kayla Harrison, who will be the No. 1 contender for your championship as we go forward.
“Tonight, it’s not like Kayla Harrison looked the best. Kayla’s looked better. Tonight she looked like a girl that needs to get takedowns and if she doesn’t, she is still in the very early stages of her striking. Julianna Pena should’ve after this performance been more willing to say her name.”
While he wasn’t a fan of her callout, Cormier did offer congratulations to Pena on becoming a two-time champion with her win over Pennington.
As much as the scorecards came into question after the fight, Cormier still praised Pena for putting on a gutsy performance and bringing a title back to the same gym that UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad calls home.
“The one thing you can never question about Julianna Pena is her toughness,” Cormier said. “She will be a deserving champion.
“At the end of the day, she becomes the champion again and Mike Valle and his team out at Valle Flow now have two UFC champions on their roster. Massive for a gym that is out of Chicago that isn’t a massive, huge gym.”
The UFC and BMF champions will collide when the octagon returns to Abu Dhabi on Oct. 26.
The company officially announced the UFC 308 main card during Saturday’s UFC 307 broadcast, with 145-pound titleholder Ilia Topuria defending his throne for the first time since stopping Alexander Volkanovski. He faces Max Holloway, a former featherweight king who recently claimed the BMF belt with a epic knockout over Justin Gaethje at lightweight.
The co-main event will feature Robert Whittaker battling undefeated Khamzat Chimaev in a pivotal middleweight contest. Chimaev hasn’t competed since scoring a majority decision over Kamaru Usman in October of 2023, while Whittaker walked through Ikram Aliskerov this past June, obliterating the man that stepped in a replacement for Chimaev in Abu Dhabi.
Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan will open the UFC 308 main card, followed by Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic in a contest that could define the next contender for UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The third bout on the list is Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige.
Below is the full fight card and bout lineup for UFC 308.
Khalil Rountree Jr. didn’t come away with the win in his attempt at becoming light heavyweight champion at UFC 307 but he still walked away with some valuable lessons.
That’s the message Rountree relayed in his first statement after falling to Alex Pereira via fourth round knockout to cap off the latest pay-per-view card from Salt Lake City. Despite a valiant effort to pull off the upset, Rountree came up short but still showed a ton of heart while battling it out with one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in sport.
“I didn’t win the title but I grew last night,” Rountree wrote on Instagram. “Alex Pereira, thanks for helping me see that I’m ready to take on the world. You showed amazing skill, you brought out a version of me that I needed to experience. You’re the champ for a reason, much respect. But I now know what I am capable of.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Khalil Rountree Jr. (@khalilrountree)
While he wasn’t necessarily considered the No. 1 contender when he got the fight, Rountree certainly made the most of the opportunity.
He came out guns blazing as soon as the fight started and attempted to take Pereira’s head off in almost every exchange. Unfortunately as time passed, Rountree started to run out of gas and Pereira took over.
By the time the fourth round was nearing an end, Pereira had busted up Rountree so badly that he had blood just pouring down his face and chest. The final sequence saw Pereira deliver a pair of vicious punches to the body before one last uppercut that dropped Rountree to the canvas.
The referee immediately swooped in to stop the fight before Rountree took any further damage.
Thanks to several gnarly cuts that he suffered during the fight, Rountree was immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment so outside of his post-fight interview, he didn’t get a chance to address his performance until Sunday.
“Brazil, you guys have a strong champion, be proud,” Rountree said. “I will take time to heal from this, I’ll be back even better, it’s inevitable. I’m grateful. Never give up on yourself, always fight hard, uplift your communities and find ways to make the most out of life.”
Even in defeat, Rountree raised his stock with that kind of fight and it’s tough to imagine he won’t have another big opportunity awaiting him when he competes again.
Stephen Thompson | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Stephen Thompson was having success on the feet against Joaquin Buckley, looking to get back on track after losing three of his past four at Saturday night’s UFC 307, but Buckley has the last laugh with a monster right hook that knocked him unconscious midway through rounds three in Salt Lake City (watch the finish).
Now down to 1-4 since 2021 — and 4-7-1 since challenging for UFC gold in 2016 —, “Wonderboy” took on social media to thanks the support of fans. In good spirits, the 41-year-old veteran also joked about not remembering how he got back to the hotel after such a vicious knockout.
Check the video below.
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A post shared by Stephen Thompson (@wonderboy)
“Not much to say other than I sincerely appreciate all of the love and support I felt from the fans tonight and always the love you’ve shown me really fills my heart,” Thompson wrote on the post. “The roar of the crowd as I walked out to the cage and my name was announced is something I’ll cherish forever. I’m sorry I didn’t get it done tonight. Much love to you all and much love to SLC.”
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson | Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
Jake Paul is getting ready for Mike Tyson.
Paul faces Tyson in an eight-round boxing match on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. The two were originally scheduled to fight back in July until a medical episode forced Tyson to delay the bout. Now back on again, on Friday the former heavyweight champion released a video of his training for the bout, so on Saturday, Paul returned the favor with sparring footage showing his own preparation.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jake Paul (@jakepaul)
But being who he is, Paul was not content simply to post training footage; however, instead of taking shots at Tyson, Paul dropped a second video clowning his longtime rival KSI.
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A post shared by Jake Paul (@jakepaul)
“When Mike Tyson knocks you out but KSI’s song starts playing.”
Paul and KSI are the two biggest names in the emerging influencer boxing scene. Over the past few years, KSI has lobbied for a boxing match between the two but it’s yet to take place.
Kayla Harrison spent the first 17 fights of her career with the PFL, but her defection to the UFC led to a social media post on Saturday highlighting the only loss she’s ever suffered.
Just before Harrison defeated Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, the PFL posted a short video detailing her decision loss to Larissa Pacheco back in 2022 while also promoting its upcoming pay-per-view event on Oct. 19 in Saudi Arabia. While UFC CEO Dana White didn’t actually see PFL’s post about Harrison, he didn’t seem all that surprised by the maneuver.
“I think when you’re losing as much money as they are, f*cking go for it,” White said at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “F*cking throw the kitchen sink at it.”
The night @lpacchec shocked the world
2x Division PFL World champion Larissa Pacheco returns on October 19th against @criscyborg
[ #PFLSuperFights | #BraceForImpact | Sat, Oct 19th | 4PM ET ] pic.twitter.com/LbA5BA0WKL
— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 5, 2024
White has rarely held his tongue when discussing the PFL but especially when the upstart promotion decides to take aim at the UFC.
Another comment that White jumped on when addressing the PFL was a recent remark from co-founder Donn Davis when he stated that the organization was spending more money on the upcoming PPV headlined by Francis Ngannou than the UFC spent producing the recent UFC 306 card at Sphere in Las Vegas.
White famously documented the high cost to put on a show there with expenditures reaching more than $ 20 million by the time it was all said and done.
“This guy [Donn Davis] just came out recently and said ‘you know we’re going to spend more money than they did on the Sphere.’ That sounds f*cking brilliant,” White said. “How many tickets are you going to sell? They’re not very bright.”
Of course there’s no doubt that the UFC remains the biggest promotion in all of MMA but White couldn’t help himself when pointing out the financial shortcomings of his competitors.
That’s why he wasn’t all that surprised by the move from PFL on Saturday when it came to taking aim at a former star in Harrison, who now calls the UFC home.
“Listen, it’s all fair,” White said. “They’re drowning. They suck. They’re not good at what they do. I guess you would just keep trying anything you can to make something stick. All good.”
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