Alex Pereira | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC 307 takes place this Saturday in Salt Lake City, headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr, and also featuring a women’s bantamweight title fight between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Peña. On top of that, there are 10 other big fights so No Bets Barred is back to break it all down.
This week, host Jed Meshew takes a deep dive on all 12 fights at UFC 307 and his favorite bets for each. Topics discussed include Rountree’s chances at pulling off the upset, Peña’s quest to become the most improbably two-time UFC champion ever, Jose Aldo being the GOAT, and plenty more.
Tune in for episode 102 of No Bets Barred.
New episodes of the No Bets Barred podcast drop every Wednesday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. The latest episode can be heard below.
All-time UFC wins leader Jim Miller returns to action on Nov. 16 when he faces Damon Jackson in a lightweight bout at UFC 309, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the matchup to MMA Fighting on Wednesday with bout agreements issued for the fight.
With a long list of accolades already on his resume, Miller returns in November to further cement his status as the UFC’s Iron Man. The New Jersey native currently holds the record for most fights and most wins in the UFC but after a disappointing outing against King Green at UFC 300, Miller undoubtedly wants to back on track when he returns in November.
As for Jackson, the 36-year-old veteran goes back to lightweight for his next fight after primarily competing at 145 pounds for the majority of his career. It was after a decision loss to Chepe Mariscal back in August that Jackson decided the cut to featherweight was just taking too much away from him.
Now he’ll go to 155 pounds with a tough test awaiting him in Miller.
Miller vs. Jackson is the latest addition to the UFC 309 fight card with heavyweight champion Jon Jones defending his title against Stipe Miocic in the main event.
Alex Pereira | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Alex Pereira is not going anywhere — at least for the time being.
The UFC light heavyweight champion defends his throne Saturday, facing Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City but he hit the pause button on talks of potential moves to middleweight or heavyweight next.
Asked at his UFC 307 media day appearance on Wednesday if he would rather gain more weight and challenge a heavyweight next or cut back down to 185 pounds and try and regain his title from Dricus du Plessis, “Poatan” said he would stay right where he is.
“I would choose to defend my belt,” Pereira said. “Because it takes a planned work to cut down in weight, and it takes planned work to move up as well, but it’s perfect for this division.”
Pereira left the middleweight division after losing a rematch to Israel Adesanya in April of 2023 and ended the year as 205-pound champion with a knockout win over Jiri Prochazka.
The Brazilian already defended his UFC title twice in 2024, stopping Jamahal Hill and Prochazka by knockout, and recently said he would be interested in returning to middleweight to compete against du Plessis after facing Rountree.
The UFC has yet to say who’s next in line at either division, but Magomed Ankalaev is expected to earn a shot at Pereira if he beats Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 later this month. Sean Strickland, who was part of Pereira’s camp for UFC 307, is hoping to face du Plessis next for middleweight gold.
Pereira met UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones at The Sphere in Las Vegas, during UFC 306. Despite an online campaign for “Poatan” to go to heavyweight and possibly face Jones for a third belt, he’s more interested in training with the UFC legend.
“He’s made it pretty clear that he’s only doing one more fight and retiring,” Pereira said. “And I’m not even part of this division, so I would be far from doing that fight. And I have an open mind, so training and learning from him is something I would absolutely do.”
Joaquin Buckley is doing his best to keep his full focus on Stephen Thompson at UFC 307, but some old beefs keep pulling him in different directions.
Perhaps the most interesting encounter was finally sitting down and hashing out his differences with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier after they engaged in a fiery war of words earlier this year. The incident stemmed from Cormier criticizing Buckley’s decision to call out Conor McGregor following a win, which led to an ugly exchange on social media.
Buckley later said he hoped to meet up with Cormier prior to his fight at UFC 307 to settle their differences.
“I just got done talking to D.C.” Buckley revealed during UFC 307 media day. “That was cool. We was in front of the camera, I thought we was just going to be in the room by ourselves for a bit just to be able to talk like men.
“But it is what it is, we had a good conversation. A good interview. People will be able to see it. That’s what I thought it was going to be, off camera and just man to man, I think that’s the conversation I would rather have, I’d be more comfortable with if anything.”
Today I sit down with Joaquim Buckley as you know he and I had some issues about a call out few months ago. Today we sat down and discussed that and so much more. We also talked his fight this weekend vs Wonderboy! But as men we needed to talk and I believe we did that. Make… pic.twitter.com/G1Sras9nkx
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) October 2, 2024
Buckley also responded to former opponent Kevin Holland, who said on Wednesday that he chose a different location to stay outside of the UFC fighter hotel to avoid a potential run-in between them. Holland scored a TKO win over Buckley when they met back in 2020 but the rivalry apparently never ended afterwards.
For his part, Buckley says he has no issues with Holland and his grand plan didn’t really work anyways — because he’s not even staying at the fighter hotel.
“I don’t have an issue with Kevin Holland,” Buckley said. “I’m here to fight [Stephen Thompson] and get my paycheck. But if Kevin wants any beef or any problems, he’s just going to have to pull up on me. That’s all.”
When it comes to his actual fight on Saturday, Buckley told MMA Fighting prior to UFC 307 that he had no issue with Thompson outside of trying to further his own career by beating the two-time UFC title challenger.
Just after the fight was announced, Buckley joked that he was going to send “Wonderboy” to Karate Combat but that wasn’t a sly way to say he’s attempting to end Thompson’s career.
Instead, Buckley explained that he wants to dominate Thompson so thoroughly when they meet that the 41-year-old veteran won’t have any choice but to acknowledge his days of chasing a UFC title are over.
“It’s not about stopping his career, it’s about giving him a different career path,” Buckley said. “I know that once I beat him and how I beat him and the fashion [I beat him], he’s still in his mind wants to become a UFC champion — once I beat him, he knows that’s over.
“He don’t want to keep fighting trying to prove himself, especially fighting the younger bucks. I think he’s really going to face the fact and face the reality that once I beat him, this dream that I’ve got, I might as well let that go and become a [Karate Combat] champion. Because I think he can do that. I think he can become a champion in Karate Combat.”
Israel Adesanya is picking Alex Pereira to retain the light heavyweight title once again.
Pereira, the longtime combat rival of Adesanya, headlines Saturday’s UFC 307 event as he defends against Khalil Rountree in Salt Lake City.
“Just off the cuff, I’ll go Pereira because [of] momentum right now,” Adesanya said on The Adam Carolla Show. “Rountree doesn’t grapple. He likes to kickbox, he’s never gone for a takedown. … If you’re going to do that with Pereira — and I’m the only one who has ever rocked him, or stood with him in the UFC, everyone else, he’s washed — Rountree, I feel like, if he can make it dirty and catch him, he can catch him. But it’s so hard to do with Pereira because, Rountree, his reach might not be able to get to him.”
Pereira won the first three meetings with Adesanya — including capturing the middleweight title from “The Last Stylebender” with a fifth-round TKO at UFC 281 in November 2022. Adesanya would regain the title five months later at UFC 287 with a devastating knockout, which served as the final time Pereira would compete at 185 pounds. “Poatan” moved up to light heavyweight where he captured the title, and successfully defended in 2024 with brutal knockouts of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, and Jiri Prochacka at UFC 303.
While Adesanya believes Rountree is a dangerous fighter, he believes that Pereira will just be too much with his frame, defense, and power.
“I’m going to go Pereira, and I’m going to go TKO or KO,” Adesanya said. “I don’t know what round, but I just feel like it’ll be hard for Rountree to get passed that frame.
“[I can see] leg kicks, leg kicks [from Pereira], and he might catch Rountree as he comes in. Because Rountree is going to be attacking him. … Paper can’t fight paper, so that’s why you’ve got to fight. But it’s a good fight and I think, again, Pereira by Round 2 or Round 3. But if Rountree does it, f*cking ridiculous.”
The price for the upcoming PFL: Battle of the Giants pay-per-view on Oct. 19 has been revealed with the main event featuring the return of Francis Ngannou as he clashes with Renan Ferreira in his first MMA bout in over two years.
The PPV cost is $ 49.99 in the United States and Canada and £19.99 in the United Kingdom. The card takes place from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
PFL officials confirmed the prices to MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
The card serves as Ngannou’s PFL debut after he inked a lucrative contract with the promotion following his exit from the UFC. Ngannou left the UFC as heavyweight champion after defending his title against Ciryl Gane but then he was forced to sit out for the next year while recovering from knee surgery.
Once he hit free agency, Ngannou signed with PFL but ended up taking a pair of boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before booking his return to MMA in October.
Meanwhile, Ferreira steps into the fight after demolishing Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in a matchup that all but guaranteed the winner would welcome Ngannou to the PFL.
Another marquee matchup on the PFL PPV features Cris Cyborg making her long awaited return to action as she faces two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco at featherweight. More recently, Cyborg has been focused on boxing but she comes back to MMA with a tough challenge awaiting her as Pacheco has won her past 10 fights in a row including a victory over current UFC star Kayla Harrison.
Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen also returns on the card to defend his belt against Fabian Edwards.
Here’s the full card and bout order for the PFL Battle of the Giants PPV:
Kayla Harrison was ready for a title shot after making her debut at UFC 300, but if she has to win one more fight to get there, so be it.
The former PFL champion—currently No. 1 at 135 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings—believed her second bout in the UFC could have gold on the line but in the end the matchmakers decided to pit bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington against Julianna Peña in the UFC 307 co-main event. Harrison now faces Ketlen Vieira on the same card and she plans on sending both champion and challenger a rather emphatic message come Oct. 5.
“I mean, look, I’m not the most patient person,” Harrison told MMA Fighting. “I feel like that has always been a struggle for me. Like I want it and I want it on my time. I want when I say I want it, not for me, God’s time. So I was hopeful — I just feel ready. I’m ready. I’m ready for everyone in the division. I’m ready to go out there and prove that I am the best in the world and I deserve to be UFC champion.
“Having said that, I think that a lot of people wanted me to fight for the title, but from what I understand, Dana [White] is a man of his word and he made a promise to Julianna so it’s her turn now. Whoever wins that fight, enjoy it while you can. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
When it comes to that matchup, Harrison doesn’t really care who wins so long as she gets the next title shot, although stylistically she slightly favors Peña in that regard.
At the same time, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo acknowledges that Peña’s lengthy layoff — she hasn’t fought in nearly two and a half years — could play a factor in the outcome of the fight.
“I just think for me, I tend lean towards the grappler-heavy style,” Harrison explained. “So I know Julianna’s a little bit more of a grappler, I would say than Raquel. Raquel’s just [a] tough, durable, boxer. She’s decent everywhere but her strength is more in her striking and her dirty boxing. I would say Julianna’s strength is more in her grappling so I tend to lean towards the grapplers.
“Having said that, I think this is a 50/50 fight. Julianna hasn’t fought in so long. Ring rust in a real thing, in my opinion. Raquel is champion of the world and when you’re champion of the world, that gives you a certain confidence in yourself and your skills and your team. Make no mistake, stepping into a cage and locking the door is f*cking terrifying. The mental side of this sport is so much bigger than I think people can process. Being a champion, I think makes a difference.”
Even before she signed with the UFC as one of the biggest free agents in the sport, Harrison had already exchanged more than a few words with Peña through interviews and over social media.
Peña has made inflammatory statements about Harrison including an accusation that Harrison has used performance-enhancing drugs. Harrison has never tested positive for a banned substance and she vehemently pointed out that she’s endured a lifetime of drug testing as a member of the U.S. Olympic judo team through two separate cycles across eight years.
Because the war of words between them has turned nasty at times, Harrison admits it would be more gratifying to take the title from Peña if that’s how it all plays out, but she certainly won’t scoff at facing Pennington if she’s still the champion after UFC 307.
“I mean listen, would I rather put an elbow through Julianna’s skull or Raquel’s skull — Julianna, everyday of the week that ends in ‘Y,’” Harrison said. “But no emotion.
“This is my job. This is what I do. I’ll fight whoever’s in front of me. But having said that, yeah, for sure I would definitely enjoy [beating Peña]. That would be a great night for me.”
Alex Pereira and Glover Teixeira | Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Glover Teixeira will be in Alex Pereira’s corner when “Poatan” defends his light heavyweight belt against knockout artist Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 main event Saturday, and he likes Pereira’s chances in a potential move to heavyweight.
Pereira teased the idea in the past, but recently said he would be more willing to cut back down to 185 pounds to face champion Dricus du Plessis instead. Teixeira, however, said Pereira’s punching power would translate just fine to UFC’s heaviest division.
“[Pereira’s] knockout power is unbelievable,” Teixeira said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He’s doing great on the ground, and he’s a natural knockout artist. If he goes up, these guys won’t beat him, man. They would have the same chance the other ones have [at light heavyweight]. Khalil, Jon Jones or Stipe [Miocic]? Ok, I believe Poatan catches them.”
Pereira claimed UFC middleweight gold in November 2022 and lost it in an immediate rematch with Israel Adesanya six months later, then left the division to kick off a 4-0 run at 205 pounds that already includes a trio of knockouts and two title defenses.
Teixeira said the team would focus on getting Pereira “stronger and heavier” for a potential move to Jon Jones’ weight class, but “I’ve trained with many heavyweights, and [Pereira] is that strong.”
A former UFC light light heavyweight champion who has previously fought Jones in the past, Teixeira said he would opt to move up to heavyweight instead of going back to middleweight if he were in Pereira’s shoes. Still, he supports whichever decision “Poatan” makes next.
“Maybe going up would be definitely easier. That would be my opinion, but it’s just an opinion.” Teixeira said. “We would have to see what the doctors say, if he can move down healthy, but I think he would definitely need to lose muscle. There’s no other way. He’s gained a lot of muscle training wrestling. He used to make 185 in GLORY, but he was doing kickboxing only, and he kept growing [with wrestling], and the cut got harder. We have to see what the professionals say. If he wants to go down, we’ll go down together. And we’ll win anywhere.”
Rountree stands across the cage from the champion on Saturday looking to spoil any plans of Pereira holding multiple UFC belts simultaneously, and Pereira’s team is taking him seriously. Poatan moved his entire camp to 8,500-feet above sea level to prepare for Salt Lake City’s high altitude, and won’t be surprised if Rountree changes his entire style to avoid Pereira’s hands and kicks.
“It’s a fight,” Teixeira said. “Even ‘Cro Cop’ [Mirko Filipovic] shot for takedowns. Maybe he’s like, ‘It’s f*cking hard here, I’ll try to take him down.’ Everyone at this level trains jiu-jitsu. That might not be his biggest strength, but he trains it. And he definitely might shoot for a takedown. Poatan trains everything, always, but his threats are on the feet. He’s fast, and he’s explosive.”
Past opponents Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland have reunited once again ahead of Pereira’s next title defense in new sparring footage.
Pereira is set to defend the UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree this Saturday in the main event of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The two former middleweight champions met up in the host city for the pay-per-view card to engage in a hard five-minute round just days before the card.
Check out the sparring session in the video above.
Pereira and Strickland met in a pivotal 185-pound clash at UFC 276 in July 2022, where “Poatan” earned his first championship opportunity with a vicious first-round knockout victory. Pereira went on to capture the title in his next fight over Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 four months later, before dropping the belt back to Adesanya at UFC 287 the following April in Pereira’s final middleweight bout.
Strickland would dethrone Adesanya five months after that in a stunning upset at UFC 293.
On Tuesday night, the eighth episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX, and after five fights, UFC CEO Dana White handed out contracts to all five winners.
The most notable of the contracts was Finney who already won twice on Contender Series before Tuesday, including a decision win earlier this season. After that win, White ripped Finner for his performance and told him to come back. That turned out to be the motivation Finney needed as he became the first fighter to ever win three ties on the show and finally made his way to the UFC.
Nurgozhay sleeps Szewczyk
In the main event of the evening, Diyar Nurgozhay moved to 10-0 in his career, starching Bartosz Szewczyk with a head kick to earn his shot in the UFC.
Yet another fighter coming from the emerging MMA superpower of Kazakhstan, Nurgozhay entered Contender Series with big hype and for awhile, it looked like he might not live up to up. But after a controlled first round where Nurgozhay found his range, in the second the 27-year-old fighter delivered a thunderous head kick that immediately floored Szewczyk and landed the undefeated fighter in the UFC.
BRUTAL HEAD KICK KO BY DIYAR NURGOZHAY #DWCS pic.twitter.com/HM2xHGHZ4p
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 2, 2024
Montes submits Calderon
In the penultimate fight of the evening, Alberto Montes scored his fourth submission in a row, locking up an anaconda choke on Carlos Calderon to earn his spot in the UFC.
Originally set to compete on Contender Series years ago, Montes finally got his shot on Tuesday and he made the most of it, showing off crisp counter-boxing against the frenetic offense of Calderon. But it was Montes’s grappling which really stood out as he repeatedly dove for D’Arce chokes, anacondas, and even a Peruvian necktie, before ultimately finding the anaconda choke against a gassed Calderon, forcing a tap.
Alberto Montes consigue la sumisión! #DWCS pic.twitter.com/sJgFjyroGi
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) October 2, 2024
Martinez outclasses Franklin
In the third fight of the evening, David Martinez won a very fun fight against Xavier Franklin to earn a unanimous decision and a UFC contract.
A former Combate champion, Martinez is also the brother of UFC fighter Melissa Martinez, and the undefeated fighter made a compelling case to join his sister in the promotion with his impressive kickboxing display. From the opening bell Martinez darted around the cage, chopping Franklin’s leg and landing combinations with his punches that busted Franklin up and led to Martinez winning every single round.
SUPERMAN PUNCH FROM MARTINEZ #DWCS pic.twitter.com/kGG8e6rBRd
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 2, 2024
Finney runs over Er-Ramy
In the second bout of the evening, Torrez Finney became the first fighter in Contender Series history to record three wins as he demolished Abdellah Er-Ramy in the first round.
Earlier this season, Finney scored a lackluster win that drew criticism from Dana White. This time around, there were no such issues as Finney bulldozed right through Er-Ramy, scoring a takedown and dominating him on the ground with submission attempts and punches before moving to the back mount and finish the fight with a series of big shots to the defenseless fighter. That finish proved to be just the ticket to finally get Finney into the UFC as White effusively praised his performance afterward.
TORREZ FINNEY DOES IT AGAIN
He’s gets it done in the first round!
[ #DWCS LIVE NOW on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/EOO28hXVa2
— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2024
Smith cruises past Savoie
In the opening bout of the evening, Jacobe Smithe delivered a dominant performance against Christien Savoie, stopping the Canadian fighter with elbows in the second round to earn a UFC contract.
A former D-1 All-American wrestler out of Oklahoma State, Smith entered Contender Series as one of the biggest favorites this season and the standout wrestler delivered, taking Savoie down early and often and pummeling him with elbows. Savoie fought on valiantly but was simply overmatched and in the second round, referee Mark Smith stopped the fight after repeated elbows.
Jacobe Smith opens up Week 8 with a TKO
[ #DWCS LIVE NOW on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/GL52RC0MxD
— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2024
Check out the DWCS week 8 results below.
Diyar Nurgozhay def. Bartosz Szewczyk via knockout (head kick) — R2, 3:32
Alberto Montes def. Carlos Calderon via submission (anaconda choke) — R2, 2:38
David Martinez def. Xavier Franklin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Torrez Finney def. Abdellah Er-Ramy via TKO (punches) — R1, 4:10
Jacobe Smith def. Christien Savoie via TKO (elbows) — R2, 2:55
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