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It’s always a bit silly when a dozen UFC fights go down and officiating is the biggest source of discussion a day later. Usually, that means the fights weren’t very good. Alas, that’s definitely the case here, as good finishes were outpaced by boring rounds by a fair measure. Card quality aside, talking about the officiating is necessary this time, because it was just that s—t.

From top-to-bottom, the officials Utah brought to the table failed the UFC 307 athletes repeatedly. It was a historically bad evening of judging, filled with random 30-27s that simply cannot be explained. There was no consistency, no favoritism towards wrestling or striking — the cards were utterly random. By the time the main card rolled around, the remaining fighters were surely sweating, because there was no longer any way to be confident in the scorecards.

Even the miserable judging was overshadowed by the performance of referee Dave Sejestad. Truly, I have never seen a ref have less control of the action in a cage than in the Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria fight. It’s a well-known MMA custom that fighters are allowed one foul, but what about six freebies?

It’s hard to decide whether Sejestad had a personal agenda against Potieria or if he just had a bone to pick with retinas as a concept. Either way, overlooking three consecutive eye pokes in a short sequence is baffling. When the fourth poke occurred a moment later, Sejestad didn’t even bother stopping the action. Just a week ago, Benoit Saint Denis was not allowed to continue into the third round because his vision was compromised. Last night, Potieria eyes were brutally attacked with absolutely no recompense or reaction!

The incompetence didn’t stop there either. Referee Sejestad didn’t punish a clear-cut Almeida low blow, but he did take serious issue with Potieria trying to use the clinch in a mixed martial arts fight. Seriously, Potieria was fighting a top-tier kickboxer and knockout artist, and his attempts to clinch were met with IMMEDIATE separations! His chances of a win in this match up were never great, but you cannot stack the odds even more heavily against him.

Last night was also significant in that it was Jon Anik’s 100th straight pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him outright bothered by an official to this degree. His outrage reflected the reaction online well, and the news that Sejestad would not make a second appearance at UFC 307 was met with gratitude and relief.

For complete UFC 307 results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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Alex Pereira can see why Jamahal Hill might be feeling a little sleepy these days.

He still hasn’t recovered from their first fight.

Hill was in attendance at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City on Saturday to watch Pereira’s latest title defense and in an attempt to troll Pereira following the light heavyweight champion’s incredible win over Khalil Rountree Jr., Hill was caught on camera reacting with a mocking yawn.

Not a bad gag by Hill, considering his long history with Pereira and the fact that he’s still sidelined as he recovers from an injury. There’s only one problem: Pereira has already proven he’s the better man in the cage, having flattened Hill just six months ago.

“Maybe he just woke up from UFC 300,” Pereira said when asked about Hill at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference.”

Hill, a former light heavyweight champion, was actually supposed to fight Rountree at UFC 303, but Rountree was forced off of that event after testing positive for a banned substance (resulting in a suspension that was resolved by the time Rountree was set to fight at UFC 307), and Hill subsequently pulled out with an injury. That sequence of events resulted in Rountree being booked to fight Pereira instead.

The good news for Hill is that it sounds like Pereira is planning to stick around at 205 pounds for the near future, so if Hill can return and string together a win or two, there might just be a rematch in their future.

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There’s not much left to be said about Alex Pereira except Chama!

The signature catchphrase from the light heavyweight champion seems fitting after he delivered another stunning performance in the UFC 307 main event. It was a very mature fight from Pereira, who fended off a fast start from Khalil Rountree Jr. only to pour on the punishment with each passing minute.

By the time the action moved into the fourth round, Pereira really began damaging Rountree with his punches as the challenger’s face turned into a bloody mess from several cuts. Finally, Pereira backed Rountree against the cage, uncorked two brutal body shots followed by an uppercut that dropped his opponent to the ground in a heap.

The fight was stopped at 4:32 in the fourth round with Pereira moving to 3-0 with three title defenses in 2024.

“I can say that this was one of the toughest fights,” Pereira said following his latest win. “I expected that. He showed tonight why he’s got so much quality in here.”

A battered and bloodied Rountree had nothing but respect for Pereira as he still enjoyed the moment despite coming up short in his first attempt at becoming UFC champion.

“My thought coming into this fight was just to be grateful,” Rountree said. “I was really excited to come in here and I just embraced the moments. I don’t think I was surprised at all. I thought I was going to be able to hit him a lot more. He did a really good job of evading the punches.”

There was no fear from Rountree when the fight started as he came after Pereira with blazing fast punches from the outside. Pereira countered with a stiff calf kick while making sure he stayed out of Rountree’s range with the exchanges on the feet.

Roundtree started to find a home for his lead left hand but he was still coming up just short from really landing on the chin due to Pereira’s height and reach advantage. As the first round ended, Rountree appeared winded as he headed to his corner after exerted so much energy chasing after Pereira.

Always dangerous, Pereira looked like a cobra just waiting to strike as he continued to let Rountree exert himself while he looked for openings to unleash his best strikes. Pereira started throwing a head kick to keep Rountree guessing and then going low to the leg again.

Another kick from Pereira missed and Rountree countered with a huge right hand that caught the Brazilian flush as he dropped to the ground momentarily. Pereira recovered quickly but Rountree definitely got his attention with that shot landed.

Rountree opened the third round with a nasty body kick that showed more variety with his offensive attacks. In return, Pereira continued to chip away at him with those calf kicks and the going back up top with a heavy right hand.

The constant pressure from Pereira also started to include a lightning quick lead jab and Rountree was getting sloppy with his counters. Just before the horn sounded, Pereira came with a knee right up the middle that nearly took Rountree’s head off but he avoided the potential knockout blow.

The jab from Pereira continued to do damage and Rountree’s eye was just cut up and pouring blood down the front of his face and body. Pereira was leading the dance and looking for the kill with Rountree fading badly.

That’s when Pereira just unleased a huge combination that forced Rountree backwards as he got stuck against the cage. Pereira brutalized the body with two massive punches and then threw one final uppercut that crumbled Rountree to the canvas as his night came to a dramatic end.

It was another astonishing night at the office for Pereira, who continuously stepped up whenever the UFC needed him this year and his star power only grows from this latest victory. As far as what comes next, Pereira appears focused on defending his belt at 205 pounds rather than chasing champ-champ status.

“We saw that Dricus [du Plessis] is going to be fighting Sean Strickland,” Pereira said. “He’s a training partner of mine, I don’t want to get in his way. I can move up to heavyweight but this division is great. I feel great with this weight cut and this is where I’m at.”

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Alex Pereira is still the UFC light heavyweight champion after UFC 307, but he was tested by a game Khalil Rountree. In the end, “Poatan” changed the tide of the fight, and in the fourth round, Pereira delivered one of the most brutal finishing sequences in quite some time of the incredibly tough challenger.

Following Saturday’s pay-per-view event, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew react to Pereira’s wild victory, Rountree’s stock rising immensely in defeat, and where both could go from here. Additionally, topics include Julianna Pena’s controversial split decision win over Raquel Pennington to regain the women’s bantamweight title, no-selling Kayla Harrison — who was victorious earlier in the evening against Ketlen Vieira — to call out Amanda Nunes, the judges and referees stealing headlines for questionable decision making, Joaquin Buckley’s big night, and much more.

Watch the UFC 307 post-fight show above, or an audio-only version of the show can also be streamed below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your pods.

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