Knockout artists collide when Alex Pereira defends the UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. on October 5 at UFC 307. The main card airs on ESPN+ PPV in the U.S.
Pereira had over 20 wins via knockout in kickboxing. "Poatan" smashed his way to becoming the fastest fighter to win UFC belts in two divisions. He has nine wins via the power punch, the same as Rountree, who is just coming off a suspension after testing positive for illegal substances.
Both are not known for their ground game. Who will walk out of the octagon as the UFC light heavyweight champion, and who will end up on the floor?
WATCH: UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., exclusively on ESPN+
The co-main event will see The Ultimate Fighter alums face off as Raquel Pennington defends the UFC bantamweight title against former champion Julianna Pena.
Also on the card will be Hall of Famer Jose Aldo, multi-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison, Stephen Thompson, and the last fight of Carla Esparza's career.
The Sporting News will provide results, analysis, and highlights from UFC 307!
UFC 307 results, highlights
Julianna Pena regains UFC bantamweight title in close contest against Raquel Pennington
Round five: Pennington moved Pena back with jabs. Big shot connected by Pennington. Right hand from Pena connected. Pena with a right. Pennington with jabs. She pushed Pena by the cage. Pena with a right. A shot to the body by Pennington. Uppercut and a shot that stung Pena. Left hook by Pennington. Jabs pushed Pena back. Big hook by Pennington. Big shot by Pennington. Pena with a right that finally connected. Jab by Pennington. Massive left by Pennington. Pena won via split decision.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Pennington (48-47 Pennington)
Round four: High kick landed by Pennington. Pena landed shot. Calf kick by Pennington. Kick by Pennington and an uppercut from Pena. Calk kick by Pennington and both exchanged shots. Jab by Pena and Pennington. Body shot by Pennington. Big face shot by Pennington followed by a body shot. Big right dropped Pena. Pennington engaged on the ground. Pena got up though. Pennington's nose was bleeding but landed crisp shots. They exchanged around the cage.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Pennington (38-38)
Round three: They traded shots in the middle, with Pena landing crisp jabs. Pena with a few more damaging strikes. Pennington with a counter left hook. Pennington with more head shots. High kick by Pennington as Pena went for a strike. Pena with combinations. Uppercut by Pena, who took Pennington down and poured down shots on her face. Pena moved around the body and went on her back, landing shots to the face. She landed the rear-naked choke, but Pennington got out of it. Pennington tried fighting Pena on the floor.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Pena (29-28 Pena)
Round two: Jab by Pennington connected. Pena landed one of her own. A left hook by Pennington forced Pena back. A right hand by Pena connected. Pennington with a front kick. Clinch engaged by Pennington. Pena dropped Pennington. Pennington has a bump by her eye. Pena provided pressure to the body on the floor, but not much offense outside of kicks. Back up, Pena got on her back. Pennington tried punching her off.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Pena (19-19)
Round one: Pena went for jabs right away, landing a few. She landed a left hook and then a jab. Pennington with a big left hand that pushed Pena back. A nice jab by Pennington connected. Pena with a right as Pennington countered with jabs. Pennington's jabs connected again. A big shot by Pennington connected. Combinations by Pena. Uppercut by Pennington. By the fence, Pennington landed with a jab, while Pena landed a few shots of her own. Leg kick by Pennington. Inside shot by Pena while Pennington landed a leg kick.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Pennington
The UFC bantamweight title is on the line, as Raquel Pennington faces former champion and former friends from The Ultimate Fighter, Julianna Pena.
Mario Bautista wins close contest against legend Jose Aldo
The Sporting News had it 29-28 Aldo, but the judges scored it a split decision win for Bautista.
11:28 p.m. ET: The Sporting News has it tied 19-19 heading into round three. Bautista played it close to the vest, landing jabs. Aldo countered with shots of his own, aiming for his busted eye. Another takedown attempt blocked by Aldo. Bautista with shoulder strikes once again. The referee forces the two to engage, but Bautista put him by the cage again. In the middle, Aldo landed crisp shots while Bautista moved back. He put Aldo by the cage again.
11:22 p.m. ET: A jab by Aldo cut Bautista early in round two. He landed more vicious shots. Aldo landed a knee, and avoided another takedown while landed big shots. Using big boxing, Aldo landed jabs while using defense to fatigue Bautista. Another takedown attempt is blocked, and Aldo was held by the cage. Bautista with shoulder strikes. Aldo got out of it and landed a massive right. Bautista with a few jabs. Aldo blocked another takedown. More combinations landed by Aldo.
Things are heating up 👀 #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/u9AMYpum9q
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2024
11:16 pm. ET: Bautista backed Aldo up at first with strikes to start round one. Aldo landed leg kicks to counter. Bautista held Aldo by the cage, but didn't land anything of value. He tried landing leg kicks, while Aldo showcased his takedown defense mark (91%). Back in the center of the octagon, Aldo landed a low kick and a right. Bautista with a big right hand of his own. Another takedown attempt, shooting on the inside. Aldo landed combinations. Switching stances, Bautista landed a few clean shots. Combinations by Aldo landed.
UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo faces Mario Bautista next.
Kevin Holland breaks rib, Roman Dolidze earns the win
11 p.m. ET: Holland appeared to have a broken rib. He didn't want to give up, but his team and the referee called the fight off, a smart move.
Roman Dolidze defeats Kevin Holland by TKO after Holland couldn't continue due to a rib injury. #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/SapSMzowQH
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 6, 2024
10:58 p.m. ET: Holland opened things up with leg kicks. Dolidze was tentative to start. They exchange shots, with Holland landing the better punches. Dolidze took Holland down but didn't quite engage.
Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland is up next.
Kayla Harrison gets tested, beats Ketlen Vieira to become a top contender at bantamweight
Harrison won via unanimous decision. Vieira showed some holes in her game, especially on the feet, but Harrison made up for it on the ground. Holland appeared to be injured and Dolidze started landing big shots to his face, including elbows.
10:40 p.m. ET: Vieira with a shot to the face but tripped. Harrison pushed her toward the cage. Vieira continued to land solid blows. Leg kick by Vieira. Punch to the chest, pushing Harrison back. Leg kick by Harrison. Takedown attempt was blocked, but Harrison finally got it after another attempt. Harrison with elbows on top. She finally found an edge with elbows. On top of Vieira, Harrison tried for a submission.
10:33 p.m. ET: Round two saw both exchange shots. Vieira tripped. Leg kick by Harrison, who went for punches as well. She landed a combination. They exchanged shots, with Vieira landing a nice shot to the face. By the cage, Vieira with a big elbow. Harrison with an elbow of her own. Harrison has a bump and cut above her eye. Vieira with a kick, Harrison followed.
10:25 p.m. ET: Vieira with kicks to start as Harrison went for strikes. They circle around the octagon as Vieira plays it safe, to a degree. Harrison looks for a few takedowns, as Vieira blocked an attempt. By the cage, Harrison landed strong kicks, while Vieira attempted to land punches. Vieira got out of it, forcing the fight to go to the middle. Harrison with a body kick. She landed a punch and then got a takedown. Harrison then landed elbows to the head.
10:15 p.m. ET: Kayla Harrison opens the main card. The two-time Olympic gold medalist faces Ketlen Vieira, a top fighter at bantamweight. If the fight could match what they said at the pre-fight press conference, we could be in for a show. A win, and Harrison might get that title shot.
10:10 p.m. ET: The PPV main card has started!
10 p.m. ET: Joaquin Buckley with another highlight reel knockout against Stephen Thompson. Buckley has won five straight while Thompson is 1-4 in his last five fights.
JOAQUIN BUCKLEY JUST DID THAT 😳 #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/j8DGCIV4y7
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 6, 2024
9:30 p.m. ET: Iasmin Lucindo defeated Marina Rodriguez via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
9 p.m. ET: Hernandez and Hubbaed competed in a heated contest that could win some performance bonuses. Hernandez won via split decision.
8:30 p.m. ET: Alexander Hernandez and former Ultimate Fighter competitor Austin Hubbard faced off next.
8:20 p.m. ET: Cesar Almeida and Ihor Potieria faced off. Almeida managed to poke Potieria in the eyes four times and landed a shot below the belt, but was not deducted a point by referee Dave Sejestad. He ended up winning via unanimous decision.
8 p.m. ET: The prelims have started.
7:45 p.m. ET: Ryan Spann defeated Ovince Saint Preux via guillotine choke, taking the submission specialist out with ease.
7:27 p.m. ET: It was a close fight, and the judges scored the fight in favor of Pennington, much to the crowd's dismay. Esparza, a former two-time champion, went out fighting. UFC showed a highlight reel of Carla Esparza's career as it comes to an end. Very classy and it's great to see the UFC recently doing this.
"This is the greatest sport in the world" 🥹@CarlaEsparza1 | #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/CllgNALqKf
— UFC (@ufc) October 5, 2024
7:05 p.m. ET: Carla Esparza competed in the last fight of her career against Tecia Pennington.
6:45 p.m. ET: Opening the show, Court McGee defeated Tim Means via face crank (3:19 into round one), possibly the best finish of his career.
Hello everyone, and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of UFC 307!
UFC 307 start time
- Date: Saturday, October 5
- Time: 10 p.m. ET (8 p.m. ET for prelims) | 7 p.m. PT
- Main event start time (approx.): 12:30 a.m. ET | 9:30 p.m. PT
- Location: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah
The UFC 307 main card starts at the standard U.S. time of 10 p.m. ET, with the prelims at 8 p.m. ET and the early prelims at 6 p.m. ET. The main event should begin around 12:30 a.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
How to watch UFC 307 prelims
The prelims, starting at 8 p.m. ET, will air on ESPN and ESPN+. It will also be streamed via Fubo. Start your free trial now.
How to watch UFC 307 main card
- US: ESPN+ ($79.99 PPV fee plus $10.99/month membership)
UFC 307 is available on ESPN+ and ESPN+ PPV in the U.S.
WATCH: UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., exclusively on ESPN+
The UFC 307 main card is available via pay-per-view on ESPN+, which also requires a subscription. The PPV price for UFC 307 is $79.99 for current subscribers. New subscribers can pay a bundle price of $134.98 for the UFC 307 pay-per-view and an ESPN+ annual subscription, which offers savings of more than 30 percent.
UFC 307 results
Main Card
- Alex Pereira (c) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. for the UFC light heavyweight title
- 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)
