UFC 307 lands this Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah, as Alex Pereira looks to defend his light heavyweight title in the main event against controversial contender Khalil Rountree Jr.
Alex Pereira has undoubtedly developed into one of the UFC's biggest stars and on Saturday night he will get the chance to further cement his status in the promotion.
Facing him is a controversial challenge as many felt Khalil Rountree Jr did not deserve to fight for the title despite his recent streak.
The light heavyweight title fight isn't the only title fight on the sneaky good card, however, as the co-main event sees Raquel Pennington defend her women's bantamweight title against Julianna Pena.
Also on the card is one of the greatest fighters of all time, Jose Aldo, as he could be getting closer to retirement depending on the outcome of his fight against Mario Bautista.
Let's get straight to our main card predictions.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Roman Dolidze (13-3) vs. Kevin Holland (26-11-0, 1NC) – Middleweight bout
Opening the blockbuster main card is a great middleweight matchup between Roman Dolidze and Kevin Holland.
In his last outing against Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302, 'The Trailblazer' moved back up to middleweight, which apparently suits him better as he picked up an impressive win.
That said, Dolidze is considered a pretty big 185lbs, with his last fight coming at 205lbs, and I think Holland could well struggle with that size disadvantage this time around.
'The Caucasian' has shown a few times during his UFC stint that he can dominate fights on the ground and does a good job of combining his attacks. Although Holland tends to be difficult for his opponent, I can see Dolidze taking the win here by simply being more versatile.
Prediction: Roman Dolidze via decision
Ketlen Vieira (14-3) vs. Kayla Harrison (17-1) – Women's Bantamweight Bout
Kayla Harrison makes her second UFC appearance on Saturday against Brazilian contender Ketlen Vieira in what is more than likely a title eliminator fight.
After her highly successful UFC debut in April at UFC 300, fans called for Harrison to move quickly to a title fight, but for whatever reason the promotion opted for a different matchup.
Vieira's only loss in her last four fights came against current champion, Raquel Pennington, and it was a split-decision loss. The 33-year-old is no slouch and could pose a problem for the Olympic gold medalist.
Despite this, Harrison handled Holly Holm with extreme ease in her first promotional outing, and I can see her having similar success against Vieira.
While Vieira can grapple and grapple better defensively than Holm, Harrison's relentless power should get her over the hump in this fight and I see her pulling off another dominant victory on her way to a title fight.
Prediction: Kayla Harrison via decision
Jose Aldo (32-8) vs. Mario Bautista (14-2) – Bantamweight bout
Jose Aldo is marking the 22nd time in his UFC career and is getting closer to retirement as the 38-year-old takes on Mario Bautista.
Last time out, Aldo returned to his hometown of Rio de Janeiro where he dominated Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301, showing he still has a place in the UFC bantamweight division.
Bautista, on the other hand, last fought in January and picked up a unanimous victory over the slumping Ricky Simon, extending his win streak to six in a row.
The 31-year-old has the chance to break into the top 15 of the 135lb division, with 'The King of Rio' currently occupying 10th place in the rankings.
Unfortunately for the MMA Lab product, but after seeing how well Aldo handled the threat of Martinez, I'm confident the former featherweight king is still a major danger to those prematurely paired with him.
For Bautista, it just seems like a big step too soon despite his streak, and personally I prefer Aldo in this match.
Prediction: Jose Aldo via decision
Raquel Pennington (16-9) vs. Julianna Pena (12-5) – Women's Bantamweight Title Fight
The co-main event sees the women's bantamweight title up for grabs as Raquel Pennington looks to make the first defense of her reign against former champion Julianna Pena.
'The Venezuelan Vixen' has been inactive for the past two years due to injury, and since then the title picture has changed drastically.
Pena is hopeful that a win on Saturday will entice Amanda Nunes to retire and they can finally complete their trilogy.
However, she must first get past 'Rocky', and the 36-year-old is confident she can extend her win streak to seven in a row and retain her title.
It's fair to say that Pena has the advantage when it comes to striking in this matchup, no matter how sloppy her technique has looked in previous fights against Nunes, but Pennington has an advantage on the ground.
UFC champion Raquel Pennington is set to fight Kayla Harrison on Saturday at #UFC307 if Julianna Peña pulls out at the last minute.
“I prepared for this, just like Julianna and Kayla. Julianna has a history of injuries.”
(via @MikeBohn) pic.twitter.com/ZJIGr19yMc
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 30, 2024
View Tweet
While Pennington has been more active than Pena, she hasn't been as active herself, so that's not something I'm going to include in my prediction.
Despite Pennington's wrestling not being as effective in terms of damage, I imagine she will be able to control Pena on the ground and pray for a decision.
Prediction: Raquel Pennington via decision
Alex Pereira (11-2) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr (14-5-0, 1NC) – Light Heavyweight Title Fight
Alex Pereira has often been the UFC's savior this year, after headlining both UFC 300 and UFC 303 to become the promotion's biggest active star.
This time he looks to defend his title against Khalil Rountree Jr, who was controversially awarded a title fight against the likes of Magomed Ankalaev.
Because there is so much controversy surrounding this matchup, the majority of people are ignoring 'The War Horse's chances of winning in this fight, and he is almost written off before he even steps foot in the Octagon.
That said, Rountree Jr is one of the most dangerous fighters at 205 pounds, and his explosive Muay Thai style is enough to give anyone in the division a problem.
Of course, Pereira's kickboxing history will have prepared him well for the stylistic puzzle ahead, but I think the noise surrounding this fight is in Rountree Jr.'s favor. can play. If 'Poatan' can't get the 34-year-old out of there within the first few rounds, I think he could find himself in a shootout.
Rountree Jr is the faster striker in this match, while the Brazilian champion obviously has more power in his shots.
Both fighters have apparently admitted that they won't be shooting for takedowns, so it will be a fan-friendly affair, and with Rountree Jr being such a big underdog, it's worth throwing a dart.
Prediction: Khalil Rountree Jr via TKO
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