Khalil Rountree Jr.

Khalil Rountree Jr. made a valiant effort but was ultimately brutally beaten and finished by Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 307. Rountree Jr. entered the fight on Saturday night ranked at #8 in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Had he have won, he’d have been the lowest ranked fighter to win the belt in the modern era.

Khalil should fight Jamahal Hill in his next fight. Obviously, they both have been stopped by Alex Pereira recently and need to work back towards a title shot. They were slated to fight each other back in June but that fight fell thru after Rountree was temporarily suspended due to consuming a banned substance. The fight would work perfectly if Hill is down to wait till Khalil heals up.

Khalil’s next fight: Jamahal Hill 

Raquel Pennington

Raquel Pennington was dethroned in an extremely controversial split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307 by Julianna Pena. Pennington was riding a six-fight win streak that dated back to her UFC 246 loss to Holly Holm in early 2020.

Pennington should take on Norma Dumont in her next fight who is ranked at #5. Dumont is 8-2 in the UFC and riding a five-fight win streak. Only the last two of those bouts were at 135lbs, and she has missed weight multiple times while with the UFC. It’s an interesting a physical matchup for Pennington and a good step back toward the title. No immediate rematch.

Raquel’s next fight: Norma Dumont

Jose Aldo

Jose Aldo lost his second fight back from his brief retirement on Saturday at UFC 307 to Mario Bautista. It was another controversial split decision that saw Bautista slowing Aldo’s dominant striking with constant takedown attempts.

Aldo entered the fight ranked at #10 in the UFC’s bantamweight division while Bautista was ranked at #11. Jose is now 1-1 since May when he ended his nearly two-year retirement from the UFC.

Aldo should fight Chris Gutierrez in his next fight. Guitierrez is 9-3-1 in the UFC and 2-2 in his last four. His losses in that time period were a pair of unanimous decisions to Pedro Munhoz and most recently Yadong Song. He’s unranked and ready for that opportunity for a big name on the next level. Perfect fight.

Jose’s next fight: Chris Gutierrerz

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland lost a disappointing fight to Roman Dolidze when his coach stopped the fight after the first round because of an apparent rib injury. Holland entered the fight unranked as a middleweight but ranked as the #15 welterweight. Dolidze, on the other hand, entered the fight with a #10 ranking in the UFC’s middleweight division.

Kevin Holland should fight Jake Matthews in his next fight. As fun of a fight as it would be for Holland to try to fight Chris Curtis again, he should try to make a real run at 170lbs. Showing his skills against Jake Matthews who is 3-2 in his last five fights, makes sense. Matthews is a game opponent that produces finishes and has shared the octagon with some high-level guys like Li Jingliang and Sean Brady.

Kevin’s next fight: Jake Matthews 

Ketlen Vieira

Ketlen Vieira was simply outclassed in a three round unanimous division loss to Kayla Harrison to open UFC 307 on Saturday. Vieira entered the fight ranked at #2 in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division while her opponent was ranked at #3. Vieira has now lost two of her last three fights with her last win coming against Pannie Kianzad in July of 2023.

Ketlen’s next fight should be against Macy Chiasson. Macy is currently the #4 ranked women’s bantamweight and the two were supposed to fight back in January. Vieira ended up withdrawing but Chiasson has won two in a row since then. Macy stopped both Pannie Kianzad and Mayra Bueno Silva most recently, at UFC 303.

Ketlen’s next fight: Macy Chiasson 

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“My old good friend Burt Watson he used to say ‘don’t leave it in the hands of the judges. They’re only going to make you cry’. That was definitely playing in my head rent-free,” Peña told reporters including Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum.

“Especially because, in the locker room, I kept hearing that they were giving these decisions away and that the judges were a little crazy tonight. Then when I heard ‘split’ I was like ‘oh golly’. I didn’t know, but I thought in my head I had done enough.”

Peña (11-5) indeed did enough in the eyes of the judges to get the nod over Pennington in Salt Lake City. At one point in the fight Pennington dropped her with a clean right hand that many thought would bring on the beginning of the end of Peña.

“I know that I am tough. I know that I am durable, and I know that I am never out the fight. I’m never going to give up on myself. You’re literally going to have to kill me in there in order to get me to stop,” she said.

“I knew, even though I had been hurt, that I wasn’t down and out. I’m never going to count myself out. For me it’s just the definition of a true fighter.”

Following the victory Peña called out former two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes to come out of retirement to complete their trilogy in the cage. The retired future UFC hall of famer responded with a vague post on X.

🦁😉

— Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) October 6, 2024

With no clear path to a third fight with Nunes the new champion has another name ready to step into the octagon with her. Kayla Harrison won her fight against Ketlen Vieira earlier in the night, and is largely assumed to be next in line for the belt.

“If Amanda cowers away, again, and does not come back and fight me then yes,” Peña said about a matchup with Harrison.

“Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention to the sport and I love that.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Peña above.

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A grudge match of sorts, though one that felt one-sided. The pair had been roommates on The Ultimate Fighter 18, which Pena won. However, although both had admitted to disliking the other, it was Pena who seemed to be doing more talking ahead of the fight.

Pena fired her jab a couple of times to start the night’s first title fight, while Pennington fired a leg kick that missed its target. There was plenty of feeling out in the opening round, which lacked much in the way of extended engagements, leg kicks, and wrestling.

Following a slow-paced, close round, the pair tried to get a little busier in the second. Pena found success with her right hand, while Pennington looked to mix up her attacks. The first takedown arrived less than two minutes in, with challenger Pena landing it. Off a throw, she settles into side control, with Pennington lifting a leg to prevent her from transitioning to mount. Still, there was half a round remaining on the clock, all the time in the world for Pena to work. Pennington would eventually make it back to her feet, the problem being, she was carrying Pena like a backpack. Pennington tried to dump her, and Pena started to slide off, but the champ was expending an awful lot of energy trying to free herself. While she wouldn’t fully extract herself, the round came to a close.

Round three found Pena connecting early; she continued to jab her way in, and had a little more accuracy with her striking. The champ for her part also worked her jab, doubling up. She would also mix in a kick to the body, but mostly, “Rocky” was working her boxing. Pena, however, landed another key takedown with just over two minutes on the clock. In a close fight and another close round, that takedown loomed large, even with Pena unable to make much happen with it initially. And after a few moments, a scramble saw Pena take the back. Pennington threatened to reverse, briefl, but Pena secured a body triangle. She looked for a rear-naked choke, but the champ fought the hands.

Heading into round four, Julianna Pena was arguably up, but there had yet to be a blow-out, lopsided round. Pennington looked to change that, however, opening the first championship round with a head kick. Pena survived, but the champ had at least let it be known that she was not going down quietly. Pena, if nothing else, proved to be extremely durable, with the kick landing flush, the best moment of the fight to date. Later in the round, Pennington would underscore that statement, dropping Pena with a punch!

The complexion of the fight had suddenly changed, with a 10-8 now in play. Pennington also had a chance to finish, but she jumped on Pena rather than letting her up. Pennington briefly had a guillotine, before Pena managed to free herself. With a minute to go, they reset, Pena not much more tentative, hands high. The champ, meanwhile, had a bloody nose, but that was nothing compared to the damage Pena had absorbed.

The fifth and final round arrived with Raquel Pennington back in the driver’s seat. The fight was likely either tied, or, if the judges were generous, Pennington might have been up care of a 10-8 in the fourth. A pretty big if, however. Pennington continued to work her boxing, and Pena appeared to have lost a step. She did manage to close the distance, but Pennington pushed her off. The champ then turned another clinch around, and put Pena against the fence. She then backed off, and worked her hands some more, though Pena did land a right in response. Then it was Pennington clinching up, not that it lasted. Back at center, a right hand rocked Pena.

The champ was coming on late in the fight, 90 seconds on the clock. Pennington fanned on a knockout blow. She was loading up. With a minute to go, Pena looked to need a Hail Mary. She didn’t find it, and they battled it out to the final horn, Pennington appearing to have done enough to retain her title. Despite that, two of the three judges awarded the victory to Julianna Pena, in another surprising twist on the night.

Official Result: Julianna Pena def. Raquel Pennington by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

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Alex Pereira was back headlining, looking for his third win of 2024 after headlining UFC 300 and UFC 303 (the latter the annual International Fight Week show). Challenging “Poatan” was Khalil Rountree Jr., who while not the highest-ranked opponent Pereira might have faced, offered an explosive striking style that all but guaranteed fireworks come Saturday night.

The co-headliner found women’s bantamweight champ Raquel Pennington looking to fend off ex-champ Julianna Pena, while Kayla Harrison, just a few fights earlier, looked to clinch a title shot of her own against Ketlen Vieira.

Full weigh-ins results for UFC 307 can be found below. 

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Weigh-In Results

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Sat across the stage from one another during Thursday’s UFC 307 pre-fight press conference, Pena disputed that, noting that Pennington didn’t win TUF, so she hadn’t been waiting that long at all.

Either way, the pair have no love lost between them, and that was on full display during Thursday’s final promotional push.

Pennington, Kayla Harrison, and even Kelen Vieira, the latter two fighting earlier on the UFC 307 card, have all had words for Pena, who has become something of a lightning rod for controversy, if not outright hostility. As to what draws that attention, Pena isn’t sure.

“I dunno, I guess I have some type of way that gets under people’s skin, I really don’t know what it is. Maybe you guys can tell me,” stated Pena, fielding questions from media outlets including Cageside Press. “However, I will just say that it’s a compliment.”

The pair were anything but cordial on stage in Salt Lake City, though things never got close to getting out of hand. Instead, it was verbal jabs being traded ahead of their bantamweight title fight, which will see Pennington look to defend her title for the first time (she won the belt back in January), and Pena attempt to reclaim it..

“I don’t care if I knock her out with a pinky finger. I don’t care if I submit her with one hand like I have before with other opponents. At the end of the day, however I get this win, I will kill for it. I will literally kill for it,” Pena boasted. “And I’m not going to stop. She even said it herself, I’m a warrior, and I do not stop. I have relentless pressure, ruthless aggression and I will not stop until I get my hand raised.”

When Pennington interjected that Pena was a Chihuahua, not a Pitbull, Pena fired back by saying that “this is the most you guys have actually ever heard Raquel Pennington speak in the history of knowing Raquel Pennington. I had to bring that out in her in order to get people interested in the fight, because nobody is interested in this block of wood over here. She’s boring.”

“We’ll see who’s boring Saturday,” Pennington fired back.

Pena had previously claimed “Rocky” Pennington was a poor representation of the women’s bantamweight division, primarily because she wouldn’t talk or promote, and seemed to shy away from the spotlight. None of that will matter come Saturday, however, and with Kayla Harrison facing Ketlen Vieira also on the UFC 307 main card, there’s the possibility of an even bigger fight on the horizon.

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In the main event, Khalil Rountree Jr. is set to challenge light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira, a match-up that took many by surprise. The UFC’s official rankings, voted on by members of the media and repeatedly maligned by UFC CEO and President Dana White, have Rountree ranked #8, with fellow contender Magomed Ankalaev sitting well ahead in the #3 spot.

Say what you will about those rankings (White certainly has said plenty, suggesting AI could replace the combat sports writers who currently comprise the rankings panel), but the reality is that Ankalaev has the better resume over the past couple of years. That said, the Dagestani fighter had a shot at the then-vacant 205lb title in December of 2022, and fought to a frankly dull draw with Jan Blachowicz. His only fights since came against Johnny Walker, a No Contest (Ankalaev landed an illegal knee) followed by a knockout this past January.

That 2022 title fight was no doubt on the UFC matchmakers’ minds when Pereira vs. Rountree was booked. Rountree has four TKO finishes on his current five-fight win streak, after all.

In the co-main event, the women’s bantamweight title will be on the line when champ Raquel Pennington faces old TUF 18 roommate Julianna Pena. A much more expected title fight, with Kayla Harrison waiting in the wings (she faces Ketlen Vieiera earlier on the UFC 307 card). Pena will look to reclaim gold in the fight, while “Rocky” Pennington looks to make her first title defense.

Ahead of UFC 307 tune in for the pre-fight press conference, going down live in Salt Lake City, Utah. That kicks off at 7PM ET, 4PM PT this afternoon, and is available in the embed above.

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“I’ve asked for the fight multiple times. We know Julianna. She’s going to say 100% different, but I’ve asked for years,” Pennington told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“Somehow it’s never aligned. It is what it is.”

Pennington (16-8) defeated Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 to become the bantamweight champion. Peña, who is a former champion, said during media day that Pennington did not represent the division well. She accused Pennington of turning down opportunities to promote herself and women’s MMA.

“We all know that Julianna has a masters degree in yappology. All she does is talk sh*t. She keeps herself relevant that way,” she said.

“To sit here and say oh I turned down embedded, how does she know anything into what I’m even doing? She just yaps and she talks. At the end of the day I’ve always been me. I stay authentic to who I am.”

Peña has turned the heat up in the talk department saying she has advantage in every part of the fight. Pennington couldn’t help but laugh.

“The way that I see it is yeah we’re the last two from The Ultimate Fighter. We’ve been here for a long time, but I’ve been the most active. I’ve fought the best of the best. I’ve done a bunch of things throughout my career,” she said.

“I can tell you, for sure, I’m here to stay. And still.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Raquel Pennington above. She defends her title against Julianna Peña at UFC 307.

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UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement on Friday.

Pereira vs Rountree! #UFC307 from the @deltacenter, Utah on October 5th!@StateofSport pic.twitter.com/EJJcjJgUMf

— danawhite (@danawhite) August 16, 2024

Pennington (16-8) is coming off winning her title against Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in January. She’ll defend her title for the first time in Utah riding a 6-fight win streak with victories over Silva, Ketlen Vieira, Aspen Ladd, and Macy Chiasson to name a few.

Peña (10-5) is the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion having scored a massive upset victory oveer Amanda Nunes to win it in 2021. She dropped the title to Nunes in the rematch at UFC 277 in July 2022 and has not fought since. She holds victories over Nunes, Cat Zingano, Jessica Eye, Sara McMann among others.

The two have history dating back to The Ultimate Fighter Season 18. Both Pennington and Peña were a part of Team Tate coached by Miesha Tate with Peña ultimately winning the whole season.

UFC 307 takes place in Salt Lake City on Oct 5 from the Delta Center. The card, as of now, stands as follows:

• Alex Pereira (C) vs. #8 Khalil Rountree Jr – UFC Light Heavyweight Title
• Raquel Pennington (C) vs. #1 Julianna Peña – UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title
• Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland
• Joaquin Buckley vs. Stephen Thompson
• Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
• Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
• Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo
• Ihor Potieria vs. Cesar Almeida
• Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington

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Pennington (16-8) claimed the vacant belt by defeating Mayra Bueno Silva, and now reigns over a division in flux, with Kayla Harrison having recently arrived to the promotion, and talks of former champ Amanda Nunes returning.

“It’s wild. It’s been a crazy journey. I’m from Colorado, I’m not the champion of Colorado, I’m not the champion of the United States, but I’m actually the world champion. 14 years of hard work paying off,” Pennington exclaimed, speaking to Cageside Press. “It’s such a crazy feeling. It’s exciting. A lot of people, they sit here and when Ronda was here doing her work, she left and it was like ‘oh the division sucks.'”

“Then you had Amanda, she became a reigning champion and then now Amanda left, and it’s like ‘oh the division sucks.’ Really there’s so much talent in this division, a ton of hard-working women, but right now is my time, and I’m excited for that. I’m excited for the hype, I’m excited for the fact that Kayla’s here. I feel like Amanda truly shut down everybody’s hype train, and now here’s somebody making a lot of noise. And I have the opportunity to shut down that train, and then of course you have Julianna [Pena], where we have a history. And somehow that fight hasn’t aligned for 11 years, but here we are.”

Pennington is widely expected to fight Pena next, a fight that has been brewing since their time on The Ultimate Fighter.

“I’m extremely excited for it. Julianna is just one of those girls that, she’s going to have her own version of everything,” Pennington said on that front. “I don’t believe in bullying, I’m an ambassador against bullying. And when I went into The Ultimate Fighter, it’s a show that really takes you out of your comfort zone.”

Pennington didn’t know anyone personally going into the show, and called living with other athletes “a completely different world.” When she arrived in the TUF house, “Julianna was being bullied. Everybody knew of Juliana in the house, and the way that they treated her, I was just like, man!”

“She was on my team, so it felt okay to make a friendship. So I tried to just befriend her and do whatever, and I quickly learned that we have different personalities. She definitely got under my skin. So that’s why for me it’s just one of those fights that’s super-exciting, it’s been a long time coming. At the end of the day we’re all human beings, but I’m looking forward to punching her in the face.”

Watch our full interview with Raquel Pennington above.

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Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Raquel Pennington. She discusses the near impossible fight week leading up to her championship win and just what it meant for her to go through it all. Then she breaks down an important fight in her division at UFC 300 between Holly Holm and Kayla Harrison. Then we have a chat about her timeline and what is next in her future. The very next step is getting her wife ready for her comeback fight as Tecia Pennington readies herself for Tabatha Ricci.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC 300 (18:06)

Following UFC Vegas 90 in the Apex, the guys are excited to see another big card on the horizon. UFC 300 is this week, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. They’re breaking down the three (two?) title fights and giving you their thoughts on what might be the most exciting fights on the card. In addition, they’re also digging into the value that exists on this card. They’ve put together a parlay and snagged an underdog that they think could make your wallet fat this weekend. Don’t miss it. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Jim Miller Interview (28:15)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC lightweight, Jim Miller. As he heads into his UFC 300 fight, he and Gumby reminisce about the early stages of Miller’s career. Fighting in Atlantic City after a shift on a construction crew – Miller really has come a long way. He discusses those times and also the good recent times he’s been having in the UFC. He’s more than ready to make history as the only fighter on UFC 100, UFC 200 and UFC 300 and we’re pumped to see him do it all.

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