A new champion was crowned and another retained their belt in Salt Lake City, Utah, at UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.
Raquel Pennington was dethroned by Julianna Peña in a split-decision loss, and Alex Pereira defeated Khalil Rountree Jr. by technical knockout in the fourth round of their main event fight.
Preliminary Card
The preliminary card was marred by questionable refereeing and judging.
In César Almeida’s fight against Ihor Potieria, multiple eye pokes went unnoticed by the referee as Almeida won the fight by unanimous decision. The next two fights were split-decision wins for Alexander Hernandez and Iasmin Lucindo. The commentary teams noted both split decision wins were particularly questionable, suggesting that Hernandez and Lucindo had won their fights far more clearly than the judges indicated.
To cap off the prelims, Joaquin Buckley squared off against Stephen Thompson. Thompson, 41, looked to be thriving for two rounds against his much younger opponent, but Buckley landed a huge right hand in the third round that dropped Thompson immediately. This knockout win is sure to send Buckley into the top 10 of the welterweight division.
Main Event
Kevin Holland and Roman Dolidze had a thrilling first round, with Dolidze landing big shots from top position on Holland. Dolidze appeared to be on his way to a dominant victory, but the fight was called off between the first and second round due to a rib injury Holland suffered mid-fight. The result was ruled a win for Dolidze.
Another point of contention with the judging was in José Aldo’s fight with Mario Bautista. Bautista’s game plan was simple: Take Aldo to the ground to neutralize his legendary striking. However, Aldo’s takedown defense was on full display, stopping all 10 of Bautista’s attempts, and he ended up holding Aldo against the cage for much of the fight, much to the chagrin of the fans in attendance.
Bautista came away with a split-decision win, as fans called for clearer scoring criteria regarding damage and control time. Aldo landed more strikes than Bautista in two of three rounds, and even cut Bautista’s eye with a punch in the second round.
UFC CEO Dana White called the judging at the event “atrocious” when asked about the result of the fight. The controversial win will send Bautista into the top 10 at bantamweight, as the future of the aging Aldo remains unknown.
The co-main event was for the women’s bantamweight title, as Julianna Peña returned to fighting after spending about two and a half years rehabbing an injury. Raquel Pennington, searching for her first title defense, scored the first knockdown of her career late into the fight, yet she still entered the fifth and final round down 3-1 on two judge’s scorecards. She won round five handily, but it wasn’t enough to secure the decision win, and Peña left the Delta Center with the bantamweight strap.
While many expected Kayla Harrison, who defeated Ketlen Vieira earlier in the night, to be next in line to contend for the belt, Peña instead chose to call out Amanda Nunes, who she fought and defeated in 2021. Just eight months later, Nunes defeated Pena. Nunes is the former champion of the division and is widely regarded as the greatest women’s fighter in UFC history, but she retired last year. Peña vs. Harrison should be next, but a trilogy match may be on the horizon.
In the main event, Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr. faced off for the light heavyweight championship, a belt that Pereira has now defended three times in 175 days. While many fans expected a knockout before the first round’s end, everyone was surprised to see Rountree Jr. survive into the fourth round. At times, the challenger even caught Pereira with some powerful punches, and earned the respect of the viewers as he held true to his promise to keep the fight on the feet.
At the start of the fourth round, however, the onslaught began, as Pereira backed Rountree Jr. against the cage and began unleashing his devastating power as his opponent tried to escape. After four and half minutes of the carnage, referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight, and the effects of the blows were visible in Rountree Jr.’s post-fight interview.
Pereira retained his belt and voiced his commitment to staying in the light heavyweight division, where a potential fight with sambo master Magomed Ankalaev looms.