Alex Pereira landed a flurry of shots that put Khalil Rountree Jr. to the floor to retain the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 307. Meanwhile, a former champion returned to the top in Julianna Pena.
Rountree brought it to Pereira early on, the eighth-ranked light heavyweight landing crisp shots to the face of "Poatan." The first few rounds appeared to be his. Fatigue may have gotten the best of Rountree, out for a year following a suspension, as he slowed down as the fight went on. However, he had a second wind, forcing Pereira to trade more shots than expected.
The fight went to the fourth, not on everyone's bingo card when the fight was announced. As the fight continued, Pereira compromised Rountree's leg with stiff shots. By round four, Pereira was locked in on Rountree's busted eye. He landed jabs and then a massive knee that was the beginning of the end. Pereira hit multiple uppercuts to Rountree's chin, elbows that rocked him, and additional knees.
A battered Rountree had no choice but to fall to the floor after a knee and a body shot. "The War Horse" had his five-fight win streak end. Pereira won his fifth straight. He could go back to middleweight or up to heavyweight next but may remain at light heavyweight. His next potential opponent is Magomed Ankalaev, who is ranked second in the division.
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With three wins in 2024, Pereira may have secured his status as Fighter of the Year.
POATAN WINS THE WAR 🤯@AlexPereiraUFC battles for the TKO victory in the #UFC307 main event! pic.twitter.com/6fjNP9mSsF
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2024
Julianna Pena is back on top after beating Raquel Pennington in a close split decision contest for the UFC bantamweight title.
Pena used her ground game to drop Pennington at various points. Pennington barely used leg kicks to halt Pena in her tracks. However, Pennington, who trains at high altitudes, looked like the fresher fighter, especially in the later rounds. She dropped Pena in round four, and it appeared round five would be hers for the taking.
Pena, who took two years off following a loss against Amanda Nunes, landed crisp shots in the last round. Pennington did the same, with many media members scoring it in favor of Pennington. Pena won and is now a two-time champion.
"The Venezuelan Vixen" called out Nunes, who retired in 2023, to complete their trilogy (1-1). Kayla Harrison, who we will get to later, laughed backstage as she believes Pena is ducking her after talking trash at the pre-fight press conference.
The crowd booed Mario Bautista before he entered the ring to face the legendary Jose Aldo. They did the same when Bautista beat Aldo via split decision. In a close contest, Bautista relied on his wrestling, which Aldo used his 91% takedown defense mark to perfection against, blocking seven+ takedowns.
Aldo landed sharp strikes while Bautista followed suit. The fight was split between media members. Aldo's last three opponents are 0 for 28 on takedown attempts against him. Bautista has won seven straight, while Aldo is 2-2 in his previous four fights.
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Roman Dolidze and Kevin Holland started to look like an entertaining affair. Then, before the second round could begin, the fight was called off. That was a result of Holland having a broken rib. Holland tried to continue, but his team did not allow their fighter to do so, and the referee called the fight off.
Dolidze, ranked tenth at middleweight, has now won two straight. Holland is now 1-3 in his last four fights.
The bantamweight division may have already found its next contender. Kayla Harrison started the main card with a big win against second-ranked bantamweight Ketlen Vieira. Harrison used her wrestling to take Vieira down, landing vicious elbows to punish Vieira.
Vieira found some holes in Harrison's game, striking on the feet, and forced her to bleed for the first time via elbows. However, Harrison persevered and dominated the latter half of all three rounds.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist, now on a three-fight win streak and 2-0 in the octagon, sent a warning to the rest of the division, including the co-main event fighters: The uncrowned queen is coming.
"Ladies, enjoy it while you can. Because the queen is home, and she's coming for that f------ gold," Harrison said.
The Sporting News provided results from the entire UFC 307 fight card.
UFC 307 full card results
Main Card
- Alex Pereira (c) def. Khalil Rountree Jr. via TKO for the UFC light heavyweight title (4:32 into round four)
- Julianna Pena def. Raquel Pennington (c) via split decision for the UFC bantamweight title (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
- Mario Bautista def. Jose Aldo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Roman Dolidze def. Kevin Holland via injury/TKO (end of the first round)
- Kayla Harrison def. Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Prelims
- Joaquin Buckley def. Stephen Thompson via KO (2:17 into round three)
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Marina Rodriguez via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
- Alexander Hernandez def. Austin Hubbard via split decision (27–30, 29–28, 29–28)
- Cesar Almeida def. Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Early Prelims
- Ryan Spann def. Ovince Saint Preux via guillotine choke (1:35 into round one)
- Tecia Pennington def. Carla Esparza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Court McGee def. Tim Means via face crank (3:19 into round one)
