UFC 307 is a pivotal event for the women’s bantamweight title picture

While the light heavyweight title fight headlining UFC 307 this weekend will draw the most individual attention, Saturday’s return to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City promises to be a pivotal night in the women’s bantamweight division.

The co-main event sees champion Raquel Pennington defend her title for the first time against former champion and ex-Ultimate Fighter teammate Julianna Pena in a grudge match that has been more than a decade in the making.

Two fights before that on the main card, top contenders Ketlen Vieira and Kayla Harrison will face off in a battle that will likely determine who will be next in line to challenge the winner of Saturday’s penultimate attraction.

With the top end of the division in order, now feels like the right time to dive a little deeper into those matchups and examine the overall landscape in the 135-pound weight class.

Watch UFC 307 on Sportsnet+

Alex Pereira defends his title against Khalil Rountree Jr, Raquel Pennington defends her title against Julianna Pena, plus Kayla Harrison and Jose Aldo return. Watch UFC 307 on Saturday, October 5 with preliminary coverage at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT.

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Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena

There’s a deep history between these two dating back to when they were contestants, then teammates, then roommates on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate in 2013, and having somehow never crossed paths in the Octagon before this weekend, they will finally do battle on Saturday, with the added bonus of the bantamweight title on the line.

Pennington has been on a strong run over the past four years, posting six straight victories since June 2020, capped off by the vacant title at UFC 297 earlier this year in Toronto.

There’s nothing flashy or dynamic about her playing; she is as eager to work as they come into the cage, leaning on her fitness, perseverance and durability to get the job done. While there have been occasional lapses over the course of her career, for the most part she’s a grinder who’s going to use her allotted time to make your life miserable, and while it’s not often pretty, “Rocky” is very been effective. in handling her affairs, especially lately.

Pena enters UFC 307 in an interesting position.

The last time she walked the walk, she did so as the defending champion at UFC 277, where she returned the title to Amanda Nunes. The TUF 18 winner was initially set to face “The Lioness” in a trilogy fight in Vancouver at UFC 289, but he suffered an injury, was forced to withdraw and has since been out of the mix.

Stylistically, Pena is also more sandpaper than style, but where Pennington prefers to throw hands and work in the clinch, the challenger is at her best when she uses her wrestling to drag opponents to the canvas, where she has solid top control and quality finishing skills shows. .

One of the most interesting aspects of this fight is the way each of these women are conducting themselves in terms of where they currently stand in the division.

Pennington is a largely silent champion, content to do her job, stay out of the spotlight and let her continued success inside the Octagon do the talking. She won’t sing her own praises all that often, but when she’s pushed, the 36-year-old veteran will make sure you understand that, like it or not, she’s earned her place on the throne through hard work and incredible perseverance, and no one else. says this could change.

Conversely, Pena has been presenting herself as the rightful ruler of the division since losing the title back to Nunes. Heading into their scuttled trilogy fight, she spoke with a blue streak about proving she was the better fighter, and when Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva fought for the title in January, she was quick to mock their efforts and dismiss their abilities .

From a professional wrestling perspective, it’s quality heel work, but the problem is that now she has to step into the Octagon with Pennington and continue her non-stop chatter about being the best fighter in the division and a lock to win back the belt.

This is one of those matches that could legitimately happen in any number of ways, which increases the intrigue, and the fact that we know in advance who the eventual winner will be also ups the ante.

Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison

Every now and then a fight arises where a competitor who has had pretty consistent success and rightfully worked their way into contention faces an opponent who feels like an unavoidable force of nature, leading to everything they’ve been doing being glossed over and downplayed. , and that they are seen as a kind of “enhancement talent” sent out to lose.

Such is life for Vieira right now, as the perennial contender and talented Brazilian has been cast as the next competitor to be steamrolled by Harrison on Saturday night.

To be clear, that could happen, and it probably will, but that doesn’t mean Vieira is a villain. Harrison could be a generational talent ready to make a quick, devastating march to the top of the division.

The 33-year-old Vieira is 14-3 overall and has been in the championship mix for several years. Opponents will say she has lost key fights that could have potentially brought her closer to a title shot during her career, including decision losses to Pennington and Yana Santos. Of course, most people believe she deserved the nod against Santos without a doubt, and her fight with Pennington was close, with 13 of the 15 media members submitting scores to MMADecisions seeing things her way.

If either of these fights goes in her favor, Vieira’s perception might be different. Now you could say that about any number of competitors, but the key point is that the Brazilian is no slouch, has been hovering in the top five for a number of years and on paper is a solid test for Harrison in her second outing under the UFC flag.

As far as debuts go, you can’t do much better than Harrison did at UFC 300, where she arrived without a hitch, looking like she was carved from granite, and then physically dominated Holly Holm for almost the entire six minutes. and the fight lasted, outscoring her 51-2 while collecting five minutes of control time and a submission victory.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL tournament winner showed all the elements that make her an incredibly dangerous threat in the division right out of the gate, using her elite wrestling and incredible physical strength to unleash ragdoll Holm before unleashing punishment . elbows and strikes from the top position and finally the choke that ends the fight. Now that she’s in a weight class that better suits her frame, there’s a real possibility we see even more convincing efforts than Harrison did when she crushed him in the PFL.

Going into this, the big questions are whether or not Vieira can find a way to (a) prevent Harrison from dragging this to the canvas and (b) whether she has anything to offer if and when she is put on deck ? The consensus answer to both questions is a resounding “No,” but the history of the sport is littered with shocking results, so we need to know for sure.

Whoever wins should be the next to compete for the title. He or she will have established himself as the No. 1 contender, and if it is indeed Harrison, there’s no other direction to take than battling the new arrival. in a championship fight in the first quarter of next year.

That said, don’t be surprised if Pena throws out a few other potential names if she emerges victorious. Pennington will playfully welcome whoever is considered next in line, but Pena has a feeling she’ll try to give a shot in the arm if she gets the belt back, which could make things interesting.

And who, you ask, gets to call them?

First and foremost, Amanda Nunes.

She had worked hard for the trilogy fight after dropping the title to Nunes at UFC 277, got injured and then had to watch from the front row as Nunes defeated Irene Aldana in Vancouver and called it a career. True to her nature, she accused the greatest female fighter of all time of avoiding her, so if she gets the belt back this weekend, expect a call-up from Nunes.

Option #2 is Valentina Shevchenko.

The two-time flyweight champion has a previous win over Pena, and the idea of ​​getting that back in a champion-versus-champ clash is both an intriguing idea in theory and one that Shevchenko might even enjoy, even as he grows the row of contenders. the 125-pound weight class makes this unlikely, at least for now.

OTHER NAMES TO KNOW

Norma Dumont put herself in the championship mix with her dominant win over Aldana at Noche UFC last month. The Brazilian has won five in a row and eight of her last nine across two divisions, with her only setback coming via a split decision to…

Macy Chiassonthe former TUF winner who has also come into shape in recent years. The Fortis MMA product has enjoyed back-to-back wins since being caught with an upkick in a fight she won against Aldana at UFC 279, mauling Pannie Kianzad in March before opening a gnarly gash on Bueno Silva’s head in June. forced to stop their fight.

With the division’s top four teaming up this weekend in Salt Lake City, it feels like an easy matchmaking decision to bring back Dumont and Chiasson to determine the potential next No. 1 contender.

Carol Rosa She has been performing well against Kianzad, but has alternated wins and losses in her last seven fights. If she can get a few more wins and maintain the form she showed in her most recent outing, she has a chance to move up the division ladder.

Jacqueline Cavalcanti earned her third straight UFC win last weekend in Paris and, at 27, feels like the best young prospect in the division. She showed more aggression and pressure in her win over Nora Cornolle and should earn a step up in the competition next time out, which will provide a better insight into where she currently stands in the division.

And finally, Ailin Perez should be taken seriously as a person of interest, at least until her current success is halted. The brash Argentinian has won four in a row, made quick work of Darya Zheleznyakova last weekend and feels very much like the 2024 version of Bethe Correia, who in her time was able to parlay some solid wins and a ton of heat into a championship opportunity .

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