UFC 307 Results: Soooo… About Last Night | Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.

UFC 307 wasn’t known for being one of the most stacked fight cards of the year, but the promotion’s return to Salt Lake City on Saturday night certainly featured some familiar faces.

Leading the charge was none other than Alex Pereira, who was looking for his third straight title defense in the past six months when he defeated surprise challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. met in the main tournament. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena looked to regain her title against current division queen Raquel Pennington in co-main event action. Sprinkle in the likes of Jose Aldo, Stephen Thompson, Kayla Harrison and Kevin Holland, and the average fight fan was more than happy

As for hardcore viewers, UFC 307 didn’t quite perform as advertised. Pereira certainly did his thing in the end, but a few stinkers were dropped along the way. Let’s skip the trash and look back at some of the more memorable performances from UFC 307.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Indestructible ‘Poatan’ gets inheritance

Believe it or not, Alex Pereira’s UFC stock got even bigger on Saturday night after the reigning UFC light-heavyweight king battered and bloodied Khalil Rountree to the tune of a fourth round TKO.

Although many discredited Rountree’s performance this weekend, he put up a good fight early on. ‘War Horse’ even delivered a surprise knockdown that caught Pereira’s attention. Unfortunately, bad gas and damage sustained to the eye started to take Rountree out of this fight.

In turn, Pereira was able to deliver one of his most memorable performances to date. “Poatan” has stopped bigger names before, but the finish of Saturday’s main event seemed different. Because of how tough Rountree was, Pereira was given the opportunity to style for the fans and unleash a vast majority of his attacking repertoire.

It was beautiful to say the least, especially considering it was Pereira’s third straight title defense since April. Pereira’s incredible success in such a short space of time has made him one of the biggest stars in the sport. And as long as Conor McGregor rides the pine tree, ‘Poatan’ could claim the No. 1 spot after tonight.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

You can’t doubt Pena anymore

Julianna Pena proved the doubters wrong after a two-year hiatus from fighting when she reclaimed her UFC women’s bantamweight title with a victory over champion Raquel Pennington.

Pena hasn’t fought since losing to Amanda Nunes in July 2022, so fight fans weren’t sure what to expect. Many didn’t even think Pena deserved to fight for the title on her first time back, but UFC matchmakers gave her a chance. Her comeback fight also took place at a high altitude, so it was anyone’s guess how Pena’s game would be.

Surprisingly, Pena put her foot on the gas of the opening bell and overwhelmed Pennington. The champion seemed reluctant to throw too much of anything. Even Pennington’s corner found it difficult to motivate her. Luckily for fight fans, Pennington came out and scored a huge knockdown in the fourth to steal back some momentum.

Pennington continued her offensive comeback in the fifth round, chasing Pena for most of the five minutes. Pena finally seemed a little gassed. “Rocky” managed to finish the fight on good terms, but Pena stole the decision along with the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

The fight was good enough to live up to the hype and made Pena a two-time UFC champion, something that should keep the doubters at bay (for now).

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Has Bautista earned his stripes?

It may not have been the prettiest win, but Mario Bautista used a strong motor and constant pressure to outlast a hungry Jose Aldo last night at UFC 307.

Bautista entered Saturday’s bout with a six-fight win streak and all the confidence in the world. Despite Aldo’s resurgence at bantamweight and his desire to fight his way back to the title, Bautista believed he would get the win at UFC 307. If he did, he would have to be in control the entire time.

Fortunately for Bautista, his endurance held up at high altitude and he was able to pressure Aldo from the opening bell. The hard leg kicks started to pile up for Bautista as he slowed Aldo down and went inside. Aldo is one of the toughest fighters to take down, so every attempt from Bautista stopped the fight along the fence.

Aldo would return the favor with sharp jabs that destroyed Bautista’s eye. However, the rising bantamweight pushed through and continued to lead the action. It would be enough to earn a split-decision victory after the three-round fight was on the scorecards.

Many thought Aldo had done enough damage to outweigh Bautista’s control and leg kicks, but that wasn’t the case. Bautista ultimately submitted the UFC legend, pushing his undefeated streak to seven.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

The Netherlands still needs a move

It’s time to sit Kevin Holland down and let him choose the welterweight division for now and forever.

While Holland is a tall fighter who can use his reach to land a strike from the outside, his lean frame isn’t ideal for the middleweight division. There are many 185-pound fighters who also compete at light heavyweight, including Dolidze. It is a weight class full of great fighters who are much stronger than the Netherlands, especially in wrestling.

Dolidze was able to take advantage of this and secured a takedown in the first round. While the Georgian fighter was pressuring the Netherlands from top position, “Trailblazer” tried to roll over and ended up wounding his rib. The round would end, but before the second could begin, the fight was waved off as the Netherlands could no longer compete.

Holland may have tasted his demise in a freak accident, but he found himself in that position after giving up a takedown to Dolidze. It just doesn’t make sense for Holland to fight at middleweight when he could very well face more reasonable competition at 170 pounds.

Another step back down should be in the works.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Even a one-trick pony can win the race

Kayla Harrison showed strong wrestling skills in her second UFC fight against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, but that was it for the former Professional Fighters League (PFL) standout in a somewhat flat unanimous decision win.

Harrison came into this fight as a ridiculous betting favorite, which is probably why fight fans expected her to steamroll Vieira in the very first round. The Olympic gold medalist scored a takedown late in the first and landed heavily at the sound of the bell, but Harrison struggled to dominate in the way people thought she would.

Still, Harrison remained steadfast in grabbing Vieira and dragging her into deep water. Vieira landed a nice elbow along the way that cut Harrison open, but she wasn’t able to do much else as she was on the defensive the entire fight. Harrison kept the pressure up and rode out for a lopsided victory.

While it wasn’t the best performance you’ll see in the women’s bantamweight division, it could still be enough to position Harrison for a UFC title shot that comes her way next.

Additional thoughts

• Joaquin Buckley defeats Stephen Thompson via knockout in the third round: “Wonderboy” wasn’t all that great on Saturday night after tasting his fourth defeat in his last five outings, but Buckley wasn’t all that impressive either. Buckley pulled off a spectacular knockout finish to close out the undercard of the “Prelims” and push his welterweight record to 5-0, but everything leading up to it wasn’t all that great. Buckley struggled to contain the aging Thompson and seemed unable to cover distance on the feet to mount a consistent attack. It’s certainly a big feather in Buckley’s cap, but he may hit a stiffer roadblock in his next outing as he sneaks into the top 10.

• Court McGee defeats Tim means via first round submission: This was McGee’s first finish in 14 years and it was a doozy. The veteran fighter was a big underdog and required neck surgery, but “Crusher” came through and delivered a nasty rear-choke finish over Means for his hometown. Most thought the 39-year-old would retire on a high, but he’ll continue to compete heading into 2025. Guts performance.
• Tecia Pennington defeats Carla Esparza by unanimous decision: For a fighter who was never the most popular, Esparza was cheered quite loudly after her retirement loss to Pennington. “Cookie Monster” knew before the fight that she would leave the sport, but the crowd felt her drive to win in the later rounds and it resonated. It appears to be too little too late for a pioneer in women’s MMA who fell just short of breaking through as a UFC star.

• Ryan Spann defeats Ovince Saint Preux via first round submission: Spann showed up again against lesser competition, but are UFC fans overly impressed? It seems like “Superman” takes on unranked or older fighters and then chokes when it comes time to climb the light heavyweight ladder. Even Spann talked about consistency after Saturday’s win and that will be a major focus for his upcoming 2025 season.

Click for full UFC 307 results, coverage and highlights HERE.