“Poatan” wasn’t kidding when he said he was “taking all opportunities” after UFC 303.
When UFC booked No. 2-ranked title contender Magomed Ankalaev to fight No. 5-ranked Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, I thought the promotion had something special planned for reigning 205-pound titleholder Alex Pereira.
Guess not.
Pereira will headline the upcoming UFC 307 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently made official for Sat., Oct. 5, 2024 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. His opponent? No. 8-ranked Khalil Rountree, The Ultimate Fighter (23) finalist riding a five-fight winning streak.
Gotta protect that “golden goose.”
UFC 307 will also feature the women’s bantamweight title fight pitting current champion Raquel Pennington opposite former 135-pound titleholder Julianna Pena. In addition, Brazilian legend Jose Aldo returns to battle ranked contender Mario Bautista.
Rountree will probably win just to spite the promotion for its awful matchmaking. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time “War Horse” upset a kickboxing legend. Let’s just hope there’s no more drug testing issues (or supplement drama) from the challenger.
UFC 307 is a little over two months away.
Pereira (11-2) is coming off a technical knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka atop the UFC 303 event back in June. As for Rountree (13-5, 1 NC), he stopped one-time light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 83 last December.
For the current UFC 307 fight card and PPV lineup click here.