UFC 307 takes place on Saturday night, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins! The upcoming pay-per-view event at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah provides a chance for UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira to further enhance his legacy on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. […]
After capturing the gold in November 2023 and withstanding challenges from Jamahal Hill and Ji?í Procházka this year, “Poatan” is next tasked with stalling the championship ambitions of Khalil Rountree to continue his reign atop the 205-pound mountain.
Title stakes will also be present for the co-main event, which will see Raquel Pennington make her first defense of the bantamweight belt opposite returning ex-divisional queen Julianna Peña.
Elsewhere on the UFC 307 card, the legendary José Aldo looks to continue his pursuit of a late-career title shot after a successful return from retirement this past May, Kayla Harrison makes her second Octagon outing, the always entertaining Kevin Holland shoots for the middleweight top 10, and former two-time strawweight queen Carla Esparza enters the cage for the final time.
Ahead of the event, all 24 fighters successfully made weight. With that, every fight has remained intact, and all that remains on Friday night is for the athletes to face off one final time at the UFC 307 ceremonial weigh-ins!
Check out a live stream via the official UFC YouTube channel below, commencing at 6 p.m. ET.
Alex Pereira has become a superstar during his time in the UFC, where his elite kickboxing background has been put to devastating use. “Poatan” is one of the best strikers we have ever seen inside the Octagon and he’s delivered some incredible highlights in his run so far. In the third defense of his light […]
Stephen Thompson Says Alex Pereira’s Aggression Could Be A Problem For Him At UFC 307
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Stephen Thompson spoke about Pereira’s unique approach to striking in MMA.
“Wonderboy” will also be in action on Saturday night in Salt Lake City where you’re sure to see his wide range of kickboxing weapons on display against Joaquin Buckley.
Rather than the evasive and dynamic style of Thompson, Pereira’s kickboxing approach is far more aggressive and on the front-foot.
He doesn’t move around all that much and will usually stand right in front of his opponents.
The champion is so powerful and confident in his ability to land his own shots that he doesn’t tend to move out of the way of his opponents’, when they launch something back his way.
As it did in his MMA rematch with Israel Adesanya, Thompson questioned whether this could be dangerous for him against an opponent like Rountree.
“It [the aggression] did not work for him when he fought Izzy, you know. That’s kind of the same thing that he got caught in was in that brawl and he was taking shots but he wasn’t evading any, he was still in the face trying to throw and he got clipped and he went down. I mean he relies a lot on his toughness, he’s a very durable fighter for a guy to be fighting so much but yeah man, that’s dangerous. If you get there with another striker, especially Khalil Rountree, Khalil Rountree is a powerful guy.”
Khalil Rountree has made it clear that he intends to stand and strike with Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 307. The light heavyweight title challenger has won four of his last five fights via knockout, and is certainly capable of striking with anyone in the division. However, “Poatan” is a whole different […]
However, “Poatan” is a whole different beast when it comes to the stand-up game thanks to his incredible career in kickboxing before he made the switch to MMA.
Rountree’s coach John Wood also stated that they intend to strike in Salt Lake City because that’s where they will get the best out of his student’s skill set, rather than trying to change his approach because of the opponent that’s in front of them.
Pereira Says He Won’t Be Convinced Unless Rountree Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is
Despite this clear statement from his opponent, Pereira isn’t convinced that Rountree will stick by his word once they meet inside the Octagon.
The champion is so effective on the feet that even when he faces fellow strikers, they often divert to using grappling as a plan B.
Pereira commented on this during a recent interview with Kevin Iole before fight week.
Through his coach, Plinio Cruz, “Poatan” suggested a wager that would give him confidence in Rountree’s pre-fight assertion that he will keep the fight on the feet.
“Honestly bro, everybody that said that [they will keep the fight standing] before ended up shooting a takedown on this guy so it’s hard to believe. Alex said that the only way that he’ll believe [is] if Khalil go out in public and say, ‘I promise, I promise that I’m not going to shoot a takedown on this guy and if I do, I’m going to donate a percentage of my purse for charity.’ Then Alex will believe him and say let’s bang.”
Alex Pereira has taken to playing defense on behalf of the UFC following the announcement of his next title defense. In the days prior to UFC 305, UFC CEO Dana White officially announced UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, with Alex Pereira defending his UFC light heavyweight championship in the main event […]
Alex Pereira has taken to playing defense on behalf of the UFC following the announcement of his next title defense.
In the days prior to UFC 305, UFC CEO Dana White officially announced UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, with Alex Pereira defending his UFC light heavyweight championship in the main event against Khalil Rountree.
The UFC was met with backlash over the selection of Rountree as the title challenger. “The War Horse” has won five straight and has Performance of the Night bonuses in three of his last four wins. Rountree, however, is only ranked #8, coming off back-to-back finishes of Chris Daukaus and Anthony Smith.
Many were instead clamoring and believing that the next challenger would be Magomed Ankalaev, who will instead face Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308 later that month. The Russian, ranked #2 at light heavyweight, is coming off a huge knockout of Johnny Walker from the start of 2024.
The decision to pick Rountree over Ankalaev has left many feeling that the UFC and CEO Dana White still hold a grudge against him for the UFC 282 light heavyweight title fight with Jan B?achowicz that ended in a draw. That was despite many feeling Ankalaev deserved the nod that night.
In a new YouTube video, however, Pereira claimed that while he also hoped for a fight with Ankalaev, the Dagestani does not want to fight him.
“I always wanted to fight against Ankalaev,” Pereira said via translation. “I threw that to the organization, left it very clear, but Ankalaev didn’t want to fight against me. I don’t know the reason — if it was the location, if he just didn’t want to.
“He isn’t the champion; he can’t pick anything. I think it’s the opportunity that shows up; he didn’t want it. He has his reasoning. I don’t know what it is,” Pereira continued. “Came to tell you guys, I’m not scared of anyone, and everyone knows my history.
Alex Pereira Claims Magomed Ankalaev Refused To Fight Him, Promises Striking War With Khalil Rountree
Pereira added that the way Ankalaev is acting, in his mind, could result in him not taking the fight with Raki? seriously and costing himself an eventual title shot.
“Ankalaev is talking about Ji?í (Procházka), saying he is a false fighter, that he isn’t good since he lost two times to me. Everyone knows my story, seen my fights, not just UFC but also in (GLORY) Kickboxing, what I did to my opponents. He is taking these two fights to talk bad about the guy. I think Ankalaev has to be very careful with Raki?. The way Ankalaev has been acting his last fights, no one likes it. Fight was a tie, everyone saw it.
“I think he should watch out for Raki?. He is talking a lot about me, he is going to knock me out and all that. It’s what he says, but at the time, we’ll see if that’s what it is. But I think he should watch out with this fight. (It’s a) very dangerous fight for him; maintain focus on this fight because he is getting a tough opponent.”
Pereira added that despite Rountree’s ranking, the UFC thinks it’s the best matchup stylistically and that he is confident they will put on an entertaining performance.
Pereira, furthermore, pointed out his own meteoric rise to the top of the UFC as reason people should not count Rountree out.
“I think he is a guy showing work,” Pereira said. “It is going to be a good fight for us both. We both like to strike. Not just good for us, but for who is watching. Like I said, I thought it was going to be Ankalaev, but I think the organization sees it as a guy who will give a good fight. They are doing all this for you guys, to please you guys. Same way how I wasn’t ranked. Things happen very fast; look at what you guys get whenever I fight.
“So I think they are thinking the same thing for Khalil, giving him this opportunity. Ranking doesn’t matter. What matters is the work he has been doing, giving a show. I think it will be a good fight.”
UFC Vegas 63 wasn’t an especially stacked Fight Night card, and even the event’s back-and-forth bouts didn’t exactly provide a massive amount of action. The card did still feature a few notable individual performances, and MMA News ha…
UFC Vegas 63 wasn’t an especially stacked Fight Night card, and even the event’s back-and-forth bouts didn’t exactly provide a massive amount of action. The card did still feature a few notable individual performances, and MMA News has all of the most important quotes and callouts from the event’s post-fight interviews inside the Octagon. De…
Extending his undefeated run to three straight fights, The Ultimate Fighter finalist, Khalil Rountree keeps it standing throughout his three round UFC Vegas 63 main card opener against GLORY Kickboxing alum, Dustin Jacoby — landing a close (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) split decision victory. Rountree, who entered tonight’s outing against Jacoby off the back of a […]
Extending his undefeated run to three straight fights, The Ultimate Fighter finalist, Khalil Rountree keeps it standing throughout his three round UFC Vegas 63 main card opener against GLORY Kickboxing alum, Dustin Jacoby — landing a close (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) split decision victory.
Rountree, who entered tonight’s outing against Jacoby off the back of a pair of devastating victories over Karl Roberson, and Modestas Bukauskas — the second of which courtesy of a brutal leg stomp TKO win, earned his third consecutive victory with tonight’s win.
Electing to stand with kickboxing talent, Jacoby throughout tonight’s main card opener, Rountree managed to keep his energy reserve primed for a third round series of explosions landing the bigger shots compared to a peppering approach from the always-active Jacoby throughout the three round limit.
Following the victory, Rountree informed former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, and Dana White and UFC matchmakers that he would not be fighting again until EA Sports made a character of him in their UFC 4 video game.
Below, catch the highlights from Khalil Rountree’s close decision win over Dustin Jacoby
Extending his undefeated run to three straight fights, The Ultimate Fighter finalist, Khalil Rountree keeps it standing throughout his three round UFC Vegas 63 main card opener against GLORY Kickboxing alum, Dustin Jacoby — landing a close (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) split decision victory. Rountree, who entered tonight’s outing against Jacoby off the back of a […]
BY SPLIT DECISION!