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.
RYAN SPANN WASTED NO TIME #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/WvEfWDs5wL
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 5, 2024
For complete UFC 307 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
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