‘Poatan’ looks to continue light heavyweight dominance

Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira will look to continue his dominance as the light heavyweight champion when he puts his title on the line against Khalil Rountree Jr in the main event of UFC 307, set for the Delta Centre in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the morning of Sunday, 6 October 2024.

Pereira (11-2) has made two successful and emphatic defences of his championship, putting away Jamahal Hill (first-round KO) and Jiri Prochazka (second-round TKO) in April and June of this year respectively.

The 37-year-old Brazilian is favoured to make it a hat-trick of defences in the calendar year, though he faces a stiff challenge from Rountree Jr (13-5, 1 NC), who has earned his title shot on the back of five straight wins.

The 34-year-old American most recently stopped Anthony Smith in the third-round of a match in December of 2023, and has admitted that he was somewhat surprised to be awarded a championship match.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” Rountree said of being offered this fight at this point in his career. “I got a call... my phone was ringing. UFC calls, I answer the phone. I wasn’t having the best day, and I said it in the call: ‘I’m not having the best day, but what’s up?’ And they’re like, ‘Hey, got some good news, maybe brighten up your day. You’re fighting for the title on October 5.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ It just blew my mind.”

He added: “Now that it’s [a title shot] finally here, it's just such an amazing feeling. I’ve put so much work in and had so many different ups and downs. I grew up in the UFC, so with the record that I have now, it just shows that all my fights have been here. All of those things add up to this moment now, and I’m prepared.”

PENNINGTON V PENA

Another title on the line at UFC 307 is the women’s bantamweight championship, as Raquel Pennington (16-8) makes the first defence of her belt against former champion Julianna Pena (11-5) in the co-main event.

Pennington won the title – vacated by the legendary Amanda Nunes – by defeating Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision in January of this year, while Pena’s last match was a loss to Nunes in a title fight in July 2022.

Pennington and Pena have effectively been circling each other for more than a decade: “We have a history from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ [in 2013],” explained the champion.

“Somehow we haven’t fought in the last 11 years. It’s a fight that I’ve definitely been looking forward to. I plan on whooping Julianna’s ass and after I whoop her ass, then I would love to take on Kayla [Harrison].”

The rest of the main card features Jose Aldo taking on Mario Bautista in the bantamweight division; a women’s fight in the same weight class pits Ketlen Vieira against Kayla Harrison; and Roman Dolidze faces Kevin Holland in the middleweight category.

UFC 307 MAIN CARD

Main event: Light heavyweight championship: Alex Pereira v Khalil Rountree Jr

Co-main event: Women’s bantamweight championship: Raquel Pennington v Julianna Pena

Bantamweight: Jose Aldo v Mario Bautista

Women’s bantamweight: Ketlen Vieira v Kayla Harrison

Middleweight: Roman Dolidze v Kevin Holland