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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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:

MAIN CARD (4 p.m. ET on pay-per-view)

MAIN EVENT: Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards

Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen

A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughe

PRELIMS (1:30 p.m. ET)

Raufeon Stots vs. Marcos Breno

Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Dedrek Sanders

Ibragim Ibragimov vs. Nacho Campos

Mostafa Nada vs. Ahmed Sami

Youssef Al Housani vs. Taha Bendaoud

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.”

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Wonderboy’s view
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LIVE: Check out the UFC 307 media day video stream TODAY (Weds., Oct. 3, 2024) at 1 p.m. ET in the embedded video above to watch the Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.-led media extravaganza in “The Beehive State,” held in advance of the upcoming UFC 307 pay-per-view (PPV) on Sat. night (Oct. 5) at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Today’s UFC 307 media day is also expected to feature a bevy of main card attractions, including Raquel Pennington, Julianna Pena, Jose Aldo, Mario Bautista, Kayla Harrison, and Ketlen Vieira, among others.

Check out the complete UFC 307 media day lineup below:

Jeff Robbins – President & CEO, Utah Sports Commission
Alex Pereira – UFC light heavyweight champion
Khalil Rountree Jr. – No. 8 UFC light heavyweight
Raquel Pennington – UFC women’s bantamweight champion
Julianna Pena – No. 1 UFC women’s bantamweight
Jose Aldo – No. 10 UFC bantamweight
Mario Bautista – No. 11 UFC bantamweight
Ketlen Vieira – No. 2 UFC women’s bantamweight
Kayla Harrison – No. 3 UFC women’s bantamweight
Roman Dolidze – No. 10 UFC middleweight
Kevin Holland – UFC middleweight
Stephen Thompson – No. 9 UFC welterweight
Joaquin Buckley – No. 11 UFC welterweight
Carla Esparza – UFC women’s strawweight
Tecia Pennington – UFC women’s strawweight

UFC 307 media day lineup subject to change.

“I’m going to shock everybody here. I think you are wrong why you are saying that everyone stands and strikes with (Pereira) and they lose? I think Khalil Rountree shocks the world – shocks the world,” former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo. “Crazy things happen in Utah, and look at our champions right now. Khalil Rountree is extremely explosive, extremely powerful, his muay Thai is incredible. When he’s launching them, he’s going to find your face.”

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 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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