UFC 307 storylines: Former champs, current contenders flying under the radar

Fight fans have been treated to some wildly stacked cards this year, and Saturday’s UFC 307 is another.

The event is headlined by Alex Pereira defending his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. That main event matchup between feared strikers is paired with a co-main between women’s bantamweight titleholder Raquel Pennington facing former one-time champ Julianna Pena in a grudge match more than a decade in the making.

UFC 307 has plenty more to offer beyond the double dose of championship bouts with multiple former world champions — and at least one potential future champ — featured on the undercard.

With that in mind, here’s what else to follow on Saturday, when the UFC returns to Salt Lake City for the third time in as many years.

HARRISON’S CONFIDENCE (AND POSSIBLY SKILL) IS UNMATCHED

Ketlen Viera is the biggest betting underdog entering UFC 307 for a reason. The reason? She is Kayla Harrison’s opponent.

The former PFL lightweight champion made her UFC debut and her debut in a new weight class about as successful as one could’ve imagined, looking like a force of nature in her dominant win over former champion Holly Holm at UFC 300 in April.

Harrison is, without exaggeration, one of the finest athletes the world has seen in the 21st century, regardless of the sport. Most fighters in the UFC don’t compete for a title in their second fight, but in Harrison’s case, it feels a little odd that she isn’t. The 33-year-old would be favoured to beat both women competing in Saturday’s co-main event had she been paired with either of them, and Harrison knows this.

“I want to fight for the title. I want to be UFC champion and Julianna has been gifted a title shot, so I’m gonna smash Ketlen’s skull,” the two-time Olympic gold medallist judoka told reporters Wednesday at UFC 307 media day. “I would happily walk out after I beat Ketlen and fight both of those girls. I think I can beat all three girls in the same night. I believe I’m the best in the world, and when you’re the best in the world, you can’t be stopped.”

As Spencer Kyte recently noted, there are multiple paths the UFC could take with the women’s 135-pound division, depending on how the two bouts at UFC 307 unfold and whether or not former two-division champion Amanda Nunes stays retired. Currently, it feels like all paths will eventually lead to Harrison being favoured to win a title fight.

CAN ALDO’S RESURGENCE CONTINUE?

Jose Aldo ended his brief MMA retirement earlier this year when he returned at UFC 301 and turned back the clock with a vintage performance. The former featherweight champion has been competing in the bantamweight division the past five years and swept the scorecards in May against Jonathan Martinez, who had been on a six-fight winning streak. At 38 years old, Aldo will look to repeat that success when he takes on another rising 135-pounder who’s a winner of six in a row, Mario Bautista. 

Aldo was deserving of his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame during his temporary hiatus, and even though he has already reached the peak of the sport, he continues to perform at a high level into his late 30s — a rarity in the smaller weight classes — and his championship aspirations remain as strong as ever.

“I’m looking for a title fight, and that’s what I’m focused on today,” Aldo told reporters in Salt Lake City Wednesday. “I have the dream of becoming champion and I give my all in training for that. I do what it takes, and rest assured that I’m well prepared.”

Aldo is only 7-6 since losing his 145-pound championship to Conor McGregor back in 2015, however, he has won four of his past five as a bantamweight, with that lone loss coming to current champion Merab Dvalishvili in 2022 in Aldo's final fight before stepping away.

Dvalishvili recently beat Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 to win the title and did so by using his dominant wrestling. Dvalishvili has won 11 consecutive fights with 68 total takedowns during that stretch. When he fought Aldo, though, Dvalishvili went 0-for-16 on his attempts.

Aldo is not at the front of the line at 135 pounds, but a convincing win as the underdog against a talent like Bautista who flies under the radar in this stacked division would keep Aldo’s dreams of becoming a two-division champion alive.

PEREIRA NOT PLANNING ON JUMPING WEIGHT CLASSES NEXT

The UFC’s 205-pound champion has teased both a move up to heavyweight to challenge the likes of Tom Aspinall or Jon Jones, but also more recently a drop back down to 185 pounds for a matchup with middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.

For now, though, probably to the delight of UFC matchmakers and brass, Pereira pumped the brakes on changing weight when asked about his possible plans following UFC 307. 

“I would actually choose to defend my belt (next),” Pereira Wednesday, via an interpreter. “For me to go to a lower weight class, it would take some time, (I'd) need some preparation. For me to go to a higher weight class, it also takes more preparation. So, right now, the way it is at light heavyweight is perfect.”

Pereira has become the most active UFC champion during his rise to stardom.

FAMILY FIGHT NIGHT

Before Raquel Pennington attempts her first title defence against one-time titleholder Julianna Pena in Saturday’s co-main event, the current women’s bantamweight champion will watch her wife compete on the prelims.

Tecia Pennington, formerly Tecia Torres, faces Carla Esparza in a rematch of an exhibition bout they had during their appearances on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned, which was filmed a full decade ago.

This is not the first time the couple has fought on the same card.

The most recent time was UFC 273 in April 2022 but it also happened at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov in June 2020, UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Evans in April 2016, Invicta FC 4 (a card headlined by Esparza in January 2013) and Invicta FC 3 in October 2012, which was Tecia’s pro debut and Raquel’s fifth pro bout. Do yourself a favour and take a look at those two Invicta cards, an absolutely stacked lineup of future UFC stars and champions at both events.

Both women’s have 3-2 records when on the same card; Raquel is 3-0 in the UFC under those circumstances while Tecia is 1-2 in the UFC on cards that also feature Raquel.

Tecia is coming off back-to-back split-decision losses, both of which were close and could have gone her way. The 35-year-old is 9-7 in her UFC career, with notable wins over Rose Namajunas and Michelle Waterson, among others. She has never been finished in her MMA career and four of her losses were to UFC champions Weili Zhang, Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Namajunas in their rematch.

FAREWELL FIGHT FOR ESPARZA

Sticking with this strawweight matchup, win or lose, Carla Esparza has announced she will call it a career following the bout.

Esparza is a former two-time UFC strawweight titleholder. She was the organization’s inaugural 115-pound champ after winning the first all-female season of The Ultimate Fighter and was Invicta FC’s inaugural champ before that.

The soon-to-be 37-year-old has not fought since her second title reign ended at UFC 281, where she was submitted by current champion Zhang Weili. Esparza has beaten her UFC 307 opponent once previously and holds notable victories over Alexa Grasso, Yan Xiaonan, Virna Jandiroba, Michelle Waterson and Jessica Penne, plus Namajunas (twice).

Projected UFC 307 bout order below:

MAIN CARD

-- Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (five rounds)

-- Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena (five rounds)

-- Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista

-- Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison

-- Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland

PRELIMINARY CARD

-- Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley

-- Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo        

-- Austin Hubbard vs. Alexander Hernandez

-- Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria

-- Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux

-- Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington

-- Court McGee vs Tim Means