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UFC 307 wasn’t pegged as one of the most stacked fight cards of the year, but the promotion’s return to Salt Lake City on Saturday night sure offered some familiar faces.

Leading the charge was none other than Alex Pereira, who was in search of his third-straight title defense in just the past six months as he met surprise challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena was looking to win her title back against current division queen Raquel Pennington in co-main event action. Sprinkle in the likes of Jose Aldo, Stephen Thompson, Kayla Harrison, and Kevin Holland, and the average fight fan was more than happy

As for the hardcore viewers, UFC 307 didn’t completely deliver as advertised. Pereira certainly ended up doing his thing, but there were a few stinkers dumped in along the way. Let’s push past the trash and take a look back at some of the more memorable performances from UFC 307.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Indestructible ‘Poatan’ Grows Legacy

Believe it or not, Alex Pereira’s UFC stock grew even larger on Saturday night after the reigning UFC light heavyweight king battered and bloodied Khalil Rountree to the tune of a fourth-round TKO.

While many discredited Rountree’s accomplishments coming into this weekend he put up a good fight in the early going. “War Horse” even landed a surprise knockdown that caught Pereira’s attention. Unfortunately, a bad gas tank and accumulated damage to the eye started to take Rountree out of this fight.

In turn, Pereira was able to churn out one of his most memorable performances to date. “Poatan” has stopped bigger names before, but Saturday’s main event finish seemed different. Because of how tough Rountree was, Pereira was given the opportunity to style in front of the fans and unleash a vast majority of his offensive repertoire.

It was beautiful to say the least, especially when you consider it was Pereira’s third-straight title defense since April. Pereira’s incredible success in such a short period of time has made him one of the biggest stars in the sport. And as long as Conor McGregor is riding the pine, “Poatan” might claim the No. 1 spot after tonight.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

You Can’t Doubt Pena Anymore

Julianna Pena proved the doubters wrong after a two-year layoff from fighting as she won back her UFC women’s bantamweight title with a close decision win over champion Raquel Pennington.

Pena hasn’t fought since losing to Amanda Nunes back in July 2022 so fight fans didn’t know what to expect. Many didn’t even think Pena deserved to fight for the title in her first time back, but UFC matchmakers granted her shot. Her comeback fight was also taking place at altitude so it was anyone’s guess how game Pena would be.

Surprisingly, Pena had her foot on the gas from the opening bell and overwhelmed Pennington. The champion seemed reluctant to throw too much of anything. Even Pennington’s corner found it difficult to motivate her. Luckily for fight fans, Pennington snapped out of it and scored a huge knockdown in the fourth to steal back some momentum.

Pennington continued her offensive comeback in the fifth round and chased Pena down for most of the five minutes. Pena finally looked a little gassed. “Rocky” was able to end the fight on a high note, but Pena stole the decision along with the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

The fight was good enough to live up to the hype and left Pena as a two-time UFC champion, which is something that should keep the doubters at bay (for now).

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Did Bautista Earn His Stripes?

It may not have been the prettiest of wins, but Mario Bautista utilized a strong motor and constant pressure to outlast a hungry Jose Aldo last night at UFC 307.

Bautista came into Saturday’s contest riding a six-fight win streak and all the confidence in the world. Despite Aldo’s bantamweight resurgence and his will to fight his way back to a title shot, Bautista believed he’d be victorious at UFC 307. If he was going to do it he would have to be in control the entire time.

Luckily for Bautista, his endurance held up at altitude and he was able to pressure Aldo from the opening bell. Hard legs kicks began to pile up for Bautista as he slowed Aldo down and moved inside. Aldo is one of the toughest fighters to bring down so any attempt by Bautista just stalled the fight along the fence.

Aldo would return the favor with crisp jabs that busted up Bautista’s eye. The rising bantamweight pushed through it, though, and continued to lead the action. It would be enough to capture a split-decision win after the three-round fight hit the scorecards.

Many thought Aldo may have done enough damage to outweigh the control and leg kicks by Bautista, but that wasn’t the case. Bautista ultimately subdued the UFC legend and pushed his unbeaten streak to seven.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Holland Needs Another Move

It’s time to sit Kevin Holland down and make him pick the welterweight division now and forever.

While Holland is a lengthy fighter who is able to use his reach to land offense from the outside his skinny frame is not ideal for the middleweight division. There are many fighters at 185 pounds that also compete at light heavyweight, including Dolidze. It’s a weight class full of large fighters much stronger than Holland, especially in the grappling department.

Dolidze was able to take advantage of this and secured a takedown in the first round. As the Georgian fighter was pressuring Holland from top position “Trailblazer” tried to roll over and ended up injuring his rib. The round would end, but before the second could start the fight was waved off as Holland could no longer compete.

Holland may have tasted his demise at the hands of a freak accident, but he was in that position after giving up a takedown to Dolidze. It just doesn’t make sense for Holland to be taking fights at middleweight when he could very well fight more reasonable competition at 170 pounds.

Another move back down should be in the making.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Even A One Trick Pony Can Win The Race

Kayla Harrison showed strong grappling skills during her second UFC fight against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, but that was about it for the former Professional Fighters League (PFL) standout in a somewhat flat unanimous decision win.

Harrison came into this fight as a ridiculous betting favorite, which is probably why fight fans expected her to steamroll Vieira in the very first round. The Olympic gold medalist did score a takedown late into the first and landed heavy ground-and-pound to the sound of the bell, but Harrison struggled to dominate the way people thought she would.

Still, Harrison remained steadfast to grapple Vieira and drag her into deep water. Vieira landed a nice elbow along the way that cut Harrison open, but she wasn’t capable of doing much of anything else as she was on the defensive the entire fight. Harrison kept the pressure up and rode it out for a lopsided victory.

While it wasn’t the best performance you’ll see out of the women’s bantamweight division it may still be enough to position Harrison for a UFC title shot her next time out.

Additional Thoughts

• Joaquin Buckley defeats Stephen Thompson via third-round knockout: “Wonderboy” wasn’t so wonderful on Saturday night after tasting his fourth defeat in his last five appearances, but Buckley wasn’t that impressive either. Buckley did earn a spectacular knockout finish to close the “Prelims” undercard and push his welterweight record to 5-0, but everything that came before it wasn’t that great. Buckley had a hard time keeping down an aging Thompson and he looked incapable of closing distance on the feet to land consistent offense. It’s certainly a big feather in Buckley’s cap, but he may run into a stiffer road block his next out as he creeps into the top 10.

• Court McGee defeats Tim Means via first-round submission: This was McGee’s first finish in 14 years and it was a doozy. The veteran fighter was a sizeable underdog and coming off neck surgery, but “Crusher” pulled through and delivered a nasty rear-naked choke finish over Means in front of his home town. Most thought the 39-year-old would retire on a high, but he’ll continue to compete heading into 2025. Gutsy performance.
• Tecia Pennington defeats Carla Esparza via unanimous decision: For a fighter who was never the most popular, Esparza was cheered on pretty loudly after her retirement loss to Pennington. “Cookie Monster” already knew she was going to walk away form the sport before the fight, but the crowd sensed her urgency to find a win in the later rounds and it resonated. Seems to be too little too late for a pioneer of women’s MMA who just didn’t break through as a UFC star.

• Ryan Spann defeats Ovince Saint Preux via first-round submission: Spann once again showed up against lesser competition, but are UFC fans overly impressed? It seems as if “Superman” cleans up against unranked or older fighters and then chokes when it’s time to climb the light heavyweight ladder. Even Spann spoke about consistency after Saturday’s win and that will be a main focal point for his upcoming 2025 campaign.

For complete UFC 307 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

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Reminder: We will deliver live round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 307’s entire five-fight pay-per-view (PPV) main card RIGHT HERE, beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, for UFC 307 TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 5, 2024), streaming LIVE on ESPN+ PPV. UFC 307’s pay-per-view (PPV) main event is a Light Heavyweight title match between champion Alex Pereira and surprise challenger, Khalil Rountree Jr. The co-main event has the women’s Bantamweight title on the line with champion Raquel Pennington defending against Julianna Pena.

UFC 307’s “Prelims” are headlined by a Welterweight clash between Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley. Also on the undercard is Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington, Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria and Court McGee vs. Tim Means (how about that one for the old heads out there?).

So, before UFC 307’s PPV action begins live at 10 p.m. ET this evening, MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the entire UFC 307 “Prelims” undercard below, beginning with the first fight at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and the late “Prelims” card which begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNNEWS/ESPN+. We are covering UFC 307’s PPV main card in a separate thread right here, beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

UFC 307 START TIME AND DATE

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card below, starting with the ESPN+ early “Prelims” undercard bouts, which air at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the late “Prelims” on ESPNNEWS/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET. This is then followed by UFC 307’s PPV main card, which will start at 10 p.m ET on ESPN+ PPV, with play-by-play updates here.

Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Pereira vs. Rountree.” Without further delay, see below for the updated UFC 307 results. (Note: This will go from the top down; therefore, the newest information will at the top of the stream).

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 307 QUICK RESULTS

205 lbs.: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree
135 lbs.: Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena
135 lbs.: Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
135 lbs.: Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira
185 lbs.: Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland
170 lbs.: Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley — Buckley def. Thompson via KO (right hook), round 3 (2:17)
115 lbs.: Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo — Lucindo def. Rodriguez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
155 lbs.: Austin Hubbard vs. Alexander Hernandez — Hernandez def. Hubbard via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
185 lbs. Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria — Almeida wins Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
205 lbs.: Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux — Spann def. Saint Preux via submission (guillotine), round 1 (1:35)
115 lbs.: Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington — Pennington def. Esparza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
170 lbs.: Court McGee vs. Tim Means — McGee defeats Means via submission, (rear naked choke), round 1 (1:37) — HIGHLIGHTS!

UFC 307 ‘PRELIMS’ PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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Magomed Ankalaev is upset for not landing the next shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and it’s hard to blame him. The Russian contender is unbeaten in his last 12 trips to the Octagon and was expected to get his hands on “Poatan” this year.

Unfortunately for Ankalaev, UFC matchmakers skipped him in line and decided to grant the No. 8-ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. the opportunity to fight Pereira for the belt this weekend at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a move that shocked many in the sport considering Rountree seemed to be at least two more wins away from a shot at UFC gold.

Ankalaev, who is currently scheduled to fight Aleksandr Rakic at UFC 308 this October, will have to wait his turn. The Russian fighter has been going toe-to-toe with Pereira in the media, but that’s not enough. Ankalaev wants to get his hands on Pereira and most fight fans want to see it, too. That is, of course, if “Poatan” doesn’t decide to leave the light heavyweight division in 2025 to challenge for heavyweight (or middleweight) supremacy.

For now, fight fans are expecting to see Pereira win at UFC 307, Ankalaev to win at UFC 308, and the two fighters to finally settle their beef sometime early next year. A lot can go wrong with those plans because Rountree and Rakic are two very dangerous fighters in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, but it’s the most likely scenario.

On Saturday, Ankalaev took to social media to give his official prediction for Saturday’s title fight between Pereira and Rountree. Ankalaev believes that Pereira will fall back on some magical voodoo to capture another impressive knockout, but also promised to “beat this demon out of him” when they finally meet.

Check it out below:

“My prediction for UFC 307 main event @AlexPereiraUFC win KO voodoo help.

After this, I have to do my job and I will beat this demon out of him. They will never come back.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 307 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

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Conor McGregor is ultimately rolling with Alex Pereira later tonight (Sat., Oct. 5, 2024) at UFC 307 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, but “Notorious” is cautioning the UFC light heavyweight champion about the “major danger” of fighting someone like Khalil Rountree Jr.

Later tonight, Pereira will put his 205-pound title on the line for the third-straight time. He’s been the most active champion over the past year and has quickly become one of the most popular and marketable fighters on the entire roster. Another victory this weekend at UFC 307 will catapult “Poatan” to even greater heights as 2024 comes to a close.

While Pereira is a big favorite to take care of business this weekend in Salt Lake City and retain his title, McGregor believes his main event fight against Rountree will be much closer than people think. McGregor is picking Pereira to win, but he has warned the UFC champion about the potential dangers of a no-nonsense challenger like Rountree.

If Pereira is able to take out Rountree at UFC 307 and extend his title-fight win streak to four then McGregor would like to see “Poatan” challenge Jon Jones next at heavyweight. It would be a chance for Pereira to win his third UFC title and is undoubtedly one of the biggest matchups to make in the sport right now.

Check out McGregor’s comments below (which have since been deleted):

“A lot of unanswered question still about Khalil but he is a nasty operator for sure. Pereira looked slightly drawn also on the scale. It’s either mans to win imo. I lean Pereira, on form, big, accurate, powerful. But Kalil has characteristics that could cause major danger! Man, it’s a tough one. Something tells me this will be a test! Pereira is just about ready for heavyweight now imo. Him Vs Jones would be amazing to watch! A chance to go 3 weight. Could be spoiled tomorrow night however, don’t be surprised. Let’s go!

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 307 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Just a months ago, UFC veteran and former One Featherweight champion, John Lineker, crossed into the ring with a successful professional Muay Thai debut opposite Asa Ten Pow. Lineker entered the match up as a significant underdog, but his “Hands of Stone” proved more than sufficient in battering Ten Pow and securing the late knockout win (watch here).

The Brazilian’s Muay Thai venture continued opposite Alexey Balyko earlier tonight (Fri., Oct. 4, 2024) at the One Fight Night 125 event from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand against Alexey Balyko. Balyko is an experienced Russian kickboxer who entered with a 3-1 record in One, but it was a step back from Ten Pow and Lineker won easily.

The fight didn’t last a round, and it was all Lineker. The Brazilian fireplug exploded forward with his usual mix of left hooks and overhands, and the left hook kept finding its mark. He dropped Balyko twice before finishing the wobbly athlete off with a MASSIVE left hook that slumped him to the canvas.

Check out the finish clip below:

After the win, Lineker called out Rodtang, probably the most well-known Muay Thai fighter on the One roster. Rodtang is famous for his aggressive fighting style and iron chin, and though he’d be smaller than Lineker, it would surely be an electric match up if it materializes.

One way or another, Lineker seems to have found a home in the art of eight limbs!

Insomnia

Kayla Harrison vs. Henry Cejudo … book it!

It feels like some really fun wrestling scrambles are guaranteed in this one.

I don’t know how this story came up on an official UFC broadcast, but I’m glad it did.

To laugh or to cry? That’s the question.

Joaquin Buckley and Kevin Holland actually want to be best buds so bad.

Your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter.

This has to be a reoccurring injury, but still! Gnarly.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Naoya Inoue has been tearing up bodies for years and years now. That inside tie to left liver shot feels like it would work well in MMA!

Impressive to control the neck for that long and still have the juice for the final squeeze.

Really long kicks with huge power at the end:

Random Land

A rock climbing cat … how could I not post?

Midnight Music: Tomorrow, I will be cornering my team mate, Namiki Kawahara, as he challenges for the Cage Warriors Academy Strawweight title. Here’s his walkout song!

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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Kevin Holland and Joaquin Buckley haven’t seen eye-to-eye since their meeting all the way back in 2010, but the two fan favorites have seemingly buried the hatchet ahead of their respective fights this weekend at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Back in 2010, Holland and Buckley met under the bright lights of the Octagon. Holland ended up delivering a third-round TKO finish, but it was Buckley’s official UFC debut. Both fighters have grown significantly since then, but they still hold a bit of a grudge. Holland even said earlier this week that he intended to stay away from UFC 307’s fighter hotel in effort to avoid the “annoying” Buckley.

Check it out below:

Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed. On Friday, Holland and Buckley ran into each other in the hotel lobby before UFC 307’s official weigh ins (results HERE). The two fighters were separated by an entire hotel floor, but they still engaged in some fight talk. To much surprise, the two contenders seemed to end their beef and even plotted on how Buckley would defeat Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this weekend at UFC 307.

Check it out below:

“I think I’m shooting in the first 10 seconds,” said Buckley. “I’m pulling a Khamzat, what Khamzat did to you. On my momma we about to touch hands (and I’m shooting.)”

“You gotta do an ankle pick, if you don’t do an ankle pick it ain’t gonna work. I’m telling you,” responded Holland.

What do you think, fight fans? Is the bad blood over? Will Holland’s advice help Buckley this weekend at UFC 307?

Sound off!

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 307 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

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“I just got surgery this morning and I’m on OxyContin and I just went live on Twitch,” O’Malley told Adin Ross.

Sean O’Malley had surgery earlier this week to repair damage suffered in the buildup to his Merab Dvalishvili title fight atop the UFC 306 fight card last month inside Sphere in Las Vegas, a five-round decision loss that cost “Suga” the bantamweight title.

Not even Suga State Athletic Commission could save his strap.

“First off I wanna say, I didn’t take any pain pills — I didn’t even go to sleep,” O’Malley said. “They did the surgery, I was wide awake. It hurt a little bit, I’m not gonna lie. Whoa dude I feel like I’m peaking. Alright Twitch fam … we’re here, we’re there, we’re everywhere.”

Watch the Twitch stream replay here.

Fans on social media are calling O’Malley’s Oxy-induced Twitch stream “the dumbest thing he could have done,” which tells me they missed this bizarre procedure. The good news is, O’Malley is still cleared for that immediate title shot upon his return.

Assuming Umar Nurmagomedov is champion in 2025.

No word yet on when O’Malley, 29, is expected to make his Octagon return, but he may have to blast his way past this resurgent ex-champion, who has plans for his own 135-pound title shot in 2025. In addition, the promotion has yet to determine when Dvalishvili will make his first division title defense.

Still some missing pieces to this bantamweight puzzle.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Bantamweight champions Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena will collide this weekend (Sat., Oct. 5, 2024) at UFC 307 inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It’s far from the most interesting title fight in 135-pound history, but there is a backstory here. The two competed on the same season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) over a decade ago now with Pena taking the title and Pennington coming up short as a semi-finalist. Since then, Pennington has been the more consistently successful fighter, but “The Venezuelan Vixen” became the only woman to dethrone Amanda Nunes … even if she gave that title right back in the rematch.

All in all, it’s both odd and unlikely that these two haven’t somehow fought before either in the TUF house or in their shared 11 years on the roster. It’s not like there are are a lot of women’s Bantamweights crowding the roster! Ultimately, perhaps its best they never met in the cage, because the match up was reserved for the highest possible stakes.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Pennington vs. Pena Betting Odds

• Raquel Pennington victory: -170
• Raquel Pennington via TKO/KO/DQ: +2000
• Raquel Pennington via submission: +450
• Raquel Pennington via decision: +100
• Julianna Pena victory: +142
• Julianna Pena via TKO/KO/DQ: +1200
• Julianna Pena via submission: +650
• Julianna Pena via decision: +275
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Pennington Wins

“Rocky” definitely has sharper, more consistent boxing than most of her peers. She’s not a fearsome knockout artist, but she lands with enough snap to earn her opponent’s respect and consistently pushes a solid pace.

In many ways, we’re talking about similar fighters here. Pennington and Pena both win fights via grit and conditioning more often than not. The difference is that Pena usually does so on the floor — her hands are truly awful — whereas Pennington outworks her opponent in the pocket.

Pennington knows how to wrestle fortunately, and she also has underrated front chokes. Given Pena’s penchant for getting herself submitted while pushing a pace, I’d like to see Pennington threatening those chokes early on when her opponent tries to change levels. She needs to put a bit of fear in Pena’s mind and convince her to spend more time upright.

Otherwise, the body jab feels like a great weapon for Pena. It should help keep the wrestling off her, as well as serve as a great setup for her right hand.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

How Pena Wins

Pena is a gutsy fighter. Her game has never really evolved beyond athleticism and wrestling, but she has the toughness and cardio to make difficult fights even for the likes of Amanda Nunes.

At 35 years of age, it feels unrealistic to expect sudden technical development from Pena after a decade of stagnancy. Likely, she does the same thing she always does: throw ugly punches erratically, push Pena into the fence, and then chain wrestle into top position. On its own, that might work, because Pena is the stronger woman and more accomplished wrestler.

Yet, this would be a great match up for just a bit of game planning. As Pena brought the dipping jab into her scrap with Nunes, perhaps she could bring the calf kick into this title fight? It’s not a hard strike to throw, and Pena’s lead leg is permanently vulnerable to the strike. If Pena could steal away some of Pennington’s comfort in the pocket, it would go a long way in creating more control time for the challenger.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Pennington vs. Pena Prediction

I really don’t have strong feelings about this fight. It should be scrappy and reasonably entertaining, but it doesn’t feel like there’s anywhere that either woman can dominate. Pena could pick up some rounds from top position, but she’s unlikely to submit Pennington or really rough her up. Conversely, Pennington could touch up her opponent with some jabs and 1-2s, but Pena went 25 minutes with a vengeful “Lioness” and was still swinging.

It really comes down to whether or not you trust Pena’s athleticism or Pennington’s boxing skill. Neither impress me terribly, so the better bet feels like siding with the woman who has actually won more than two fights since 2020.

Prediction: Pennington via decision (+100)

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s been said before, but Ilia Topuria is not lacking for confidence.

The undefeated Featherweight champion is definitely riding high ahead of his first title defense opposite the resurgent Max Holloway, whom he promises to brutalize in short fashion. It’s a lot of tough talk, but can you blame the 27 year old when he’s largely lived up to his word and dominated everyone else so far?

Either way, Topuria’s ambitions are not limited to 145-pounds. Inside the Octagon, “El Matador” fought just once at Lightweight against Jai Herbert, suffering a bit of trouble before landing a tremendous knockout (watch it). Recently, Topuria responded to a fan question online and expressed interest in returning to Lightweight, targeting a match up with champion Islam Makhachev.

“The truth is that of course I do,” Topuria responded when asked if he thinks about fighting Makhachev. “He’s a great fighter. Sometimes he talks too much, sometimes not, but we can always resolve it in the Octagon. Not in the street because I’ll have to pay for his medical bills.”

All told, it’s pretty mild trash talk by Topuria standards. Makhachev’s team mate and undefeated Bellator Lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, was unimpressed however. He responded on an Instagram story, questioning “When did you ever fight on the street European boy?”

Topuria responded with questions of his own about Nurmagomedov’s murky 2023 drug test failure. He replied to Nurmagomedov’s question on X, writing “It has been a long time, to be honest. How are you doing with drugs? Are you still on steroids?”

As mentioned, Holloway is next up for Topuria, as the two are scheduled to throw down the upcoming UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. If he’s victorious, top Featherweight contenders like Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev are waiting for their first shot at UFC gold, and Topuria is also supposed to fight Alexander Volkanovski a second time. If and when he does jump back into the Lightweight waters though, Topuria will have plenty of options for opponents.

Insomnia

Conor McGregor doesn’t seem THAT upset about his return fight being continually delayed.

Oh yeah, we love veteran vs. veteran violence! It will be interesting to see how Damon Jackson fares back at 155 pounds as well.

Daniel Cormier is just asking to get kicked in the calf again.

It goes without saying, but … a master at his craft.

What kind of reality dating nonsense has Payton Talbott gotten himself into? I look forward to not watching but posting some clips in this column!

Hang it in the Louvre.

Merab vs. Umar Nurmagomedov is obviously next, but does the challenger really get to dictate when the fight takes place? Eh.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Classic Muay Thai on display.

Two minutes of Alex Pereira deleting people with his left hook!

A Capoeira kick that didn’t miss! Incredible.

Random Land

Never underestimate the power of a good feint.

Midnight Music: Post-rock, 1996

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) history is always fun to look back at.

Every time a UFC superstar loses their first fight, it is a crazy event that happened nine years ago today. At UFC 192 (Oct. 3, 2015), which took place inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Adriano Martins knocked out 24-year-old Islam Makhachev in under two minutes.

Relive the crazy knockout below:

There has been much controversy about the knockout result because the fight was stopped a little early. Makhachev was not unconscious and was in the process of pulling guard; however, the way he went down definitely led the referee to decide to stop the fight.

That knockout led Makhachev to go on an insane run in the promotion, and he hasn’t lost since. The Russian fighter won 10 fights in a row, including six finishes, which led to a vacant UFC Lightweight title fight against Charles Oliveira. Makhachev destroyed Oliveira to win the title and has defended it three times, most recently against Dustin Poirier.

Martins, on the other hand, suffered two losses in a row after his upset win over Makhachev and then got cut from the UFC. He lost three more fights after his release but picked up his first win in nine years earlier this year.

Martins ended his UFC career with a 4-3 record, while Makhachev has a fantastic 26-1 overall record.

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