UFC 307 was a night filled with some questionable judging, big fights and nasty finishes. In the co-main event, Julianna Pena settled some long-standing beef with Raquel Pennington as she seized the belt in a surprising split decision. The main event produced a fight of the night as Alex Pereira, who entered the fight compromised, dispatched his opponent Khalil Rountree Jr. with a beautiful display of striking after some early adversity.
Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira put on one of the best performances of his career Saturday, when he finished Khalil Rountree Jr. in the fourth round to retain the UFC light heavyweight belt. Rountree Jr. came into the bout with the #8 ranking next to his name.
Pereira is now 9-1 in the UFC since joining in 2021. He has only been beaten by Israel Adesanya in that time period. The only fight that makes sense for Alex at 205lbs. would be Magomed Ankalaev who is ranked at #2 at light heavyweight. Ankalaev is currently slated to fight #5 ranked, Aleksandar Rakic, at UFC 308 on October 26th. Ankalaev is on a 12-fight unbeaten streak.
Alex’s next fight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic winner
Julianna Pena
Julianna Pena shocked a lot of fans with her split decision victory over Raquel Pennington to win the UFC women’s bantamweight belt in the co-main event of UFC 307. Pena has fought just five times since mid 2019 and has gone 3-2 in that time period.
Pena was forced to withdraw from her trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes last year. Nunes has since retired so that bout is off of the table. Pena should fight Kayla Harrison who won earlier on in the night. The former Olympian and PFL champ has looked flawless in her UFC career thus far and already holds a #3 ranking next to her name. A more than worthy adversary.
Julianna’s next fight: Kayla Harrison
Mario Bautista
Mario Bautista executed a flawless game plan in order to edge out a split decision over Jose Aldo at UFC 307. Bautista entered the fight ranked at #11 in the UFC’s bantamweight division while his opponent was ranked at #10. Bautista is now 9-2 in the UFC. He is currently riding a seven-fight win streak featuring three finishes. His only losses are to Cory Sandhagen and most recently, Trevin Jones, in 2021.
Bautista’s next fight should be against Marlon Vera. Chito is currently ranked at #7 in the UFC’s bantamweight division and has won just one of his last four fights. Chito and Mario also share a common loss in Cory Sandhagen.
Mario’s next fight: Marlon Vera
Roman Dolidze
Roman Dolidze forced a TKO victory against Kevin Holland between the first and second rounds at UFC 307. Dolidze has now won two in a row since losing a majority decision to #4 ranked middleweight, Nassourdine Imavov, in February. Roman entered the fight as the #10 ranked UFC middleweight while his opponent was the #15 ranked welterweight.
Dolidze’s next fight should be against Gregory Rodrigues. Gregory is 7-2 in the UFC and has won his last three fights, two inside the distance. Robocop’s last time out was against Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC 304 in July. That would make for a violent fight thanks to Robocop’s fight style.
Roman’s next fight: Gregory Rodrigues
Kayla Harrison
Kayla Harrison secured a hard-fought unanimous decision victory in the opening fight of the main card of UFC 307 against Ketlen Vieira. Harrison is now 2-0 in the UFC after her first-round finish of Holly Holm at back UFC 300 in her promotional debut.
Now 18-1 as a pro, the former Olympian should undoubtedly be fast tracked to a title shot. She should fight Julianna Pena for the belt in her next fight whenever she recovers from her extreme weight cut and is ready to schedule that title shot. Pretty easy one to make for Harrison.
Kayla’s next fight: Julianna Pena
