Each time the UFC goes to Salt Lake City, entertaining things happen, and that was the case again as UFC 307 played out before another packed house at Delta Center.
While the fans, media, and announce team didn’t always agree with the decisions, there is no denying the action was tense, competitive, and captivating, as both title fights reached the championship rounds, and several of the preceding contests provided a great deal to react to and build off as the victorious and the vanquished continue forward.
For some, the next steps are obvious and clear — or at least seem like they should be — while for others, figuring out what comes next is a little more challenging, but that’s what makes diving into this column following each and every UFC pay-per-view so much fun.
Let’s do a little Monday matchmaking, shall we?
Alex Pereira
“Poatan” retained his light heavyweight title with a hard-fought, illustrative fourth-round stoppage win over a game, gutsy Khalil Rountree Jr., who gave the champion more of a fight than the champ’s last two opponents.
The win highlighted Pereira’s technical striking and his ability to navigate his way through challenges inside the Octagon, two things that previously hadn’t received a great deal of attention because (a) his power is menacing and his knockouts are vicious, and (b) he usually gets things done in a hurry.
That wasn’t the case against Rountree Jr. and seeing Pereira’s ability to make the right adjustments and build to another stoppage finish was quite impressive.
This was “death by a thousand cuts” instead of a single missile and seeing Pereira chip away at the challenger bit-by-bit while never looking particularly stressed or hurried makes him an even more menacing presence atop the division.
Now it’s time to answer the one massive question that has been looming since he landed in the UFC three years ago: how will he hold up against a serious wrestler?
Provided Magomed Ankalaev gets through Aleksander Rakic later this month at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, the Russian grappler has to be the next opponent for Pereira. You could make a case that he should have been the one standing opposite the champion in any one of his three appearances so far this year, and if he beats Rakic, it’s going to be difficult to justify anyone else fighting for the title.
The 32-year-old is 18-1-1 with one no contest for his career and has put together a 12-fight unbeaten streak heading into his UFC 308 assignment. Yes, there have been some weird encounters, tepid efforts, and general wonkiness along the way, but there aren’t a lot of people that have put together 13-fight unbeaten streaks in the UFC, and if Ankalaev gets there, a championship opportunity has to follow.
Let’s not forget, though, as much as there are legitimate questions about how Pereira will deal with a very skilled grappler like Ankalaev, Jan Blachowicz brutalized Ankalaev’s lead leg in their bout at UFC 282, so it’s far from a foregone conclusion that the streaking contender from Dagestan is simply going to wrestle the champion into oblivion as some seem to want to suggest.
Julianna Pena, Kayla Harrison
What’d I tell you?
In writing about the co-main event and the women’s bantamweight landscape ahead of this event, I forecasted Pena would target Amanda Nunes for the first title defence of her second reign should that come to pass, and lo and behold, that’s precisely what “The Venezuelan Vixen” did after edging out Raquel Pennington to claim the title for a second time.
It makes perfect sense when you look at it from Pena’s vantage point, as she’s the only person to beat Nunes in the last decade, and their series is even at one win apiece.
Plus, she’s operating straight out of the Chael Sonnen handbook by saying she “ran out of time” in their second encounter and claiming Nunes is ducking her, despite “The Lioness” winning their last meeting. Saying all week that she still felt like the champion despite her last appearance being a fight where she lost the title and was knocked down three times, taken down six times, and lost 50-45, 50-44, and 50-43 is some classic Sonnen behaviour as well.
All of that feels like a moot point though, as Harrison cemented her standing as the No. 1 contender earlier in the evening by out-working Ketlen Vieira in a competitive fight that showed some of the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s limitations, but also reinforced that she’s going to be able to make up for some of her skill deficiencies and shortcomings by simply being the far superior athlete in the cage every time out.
Just as you could have made an easy case for Ankalaev meriting a shot at Pereira in Utah, the same can be said for Harrison after she rag-dolled Holly Holm in her debut in April.
As much as Pena wants to be the one to lure Nunes out of retirement, Harrison is the only one that has a real chance to do so, and with she and Pena now positioned opposite one another at the top of the division, this is unquestionably the fight to make and the direction to go for the UFC.
POTENTIAL PAIRINGS FOR OTHER UFC 307 WINNERS
Joaquin Buckley: After knocking out Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Buckley called out former champ Kamaru Usman and that is 100 percent the fight that needs to happen next. Usman has dropped three straight and needs to get moving in the right direction again, while Buckley merits a marquee assignment against someone of Usman’s stature.
Mario Bautista: The surging MMA Lab product pushed his winning streak to seven by out-working, out-grinding Jose Aldo on Saturday and is due another step up in competition. A fight with former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera, who is 1-3 in his last four outings, feels like a matchup that makes a lot of sense.
Roman Dolidze: While no one wants to win due to an injury stoppage, Dolidze was fighting smart and controlling things on the canvas before Kevin Holland popped a rib, and has now won consecutive contests after dropping his 2024 debut. He lobbied for the winner of the fight between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev later this month, but a Fight Night main event opposite Caio Borralho is a better fit to me.
Ryan Spann: One of the more consistently inconsistent fighters in the UFC, Spann looked great finishing Ovince Saint Preux then said all the right things about staying committed and wanting to be the best version of himself going forward. So let’s have some fun and pairing him off with Jan Blachowicz whenever the former light heavyweight champ is healthy and ready to step back into the fray.
Cesar Almeida: The Brazilian kickboxer showed some development on the ground in his foul-marred win over Ihor Potieria, but at 36 years old, his upside is capped. As such, Almeida feels like the ideal dance partner for recent TUF middleweight winner Ryan Loder whenever he’s ready to compete again.
Iasmin Lucindo, Tecia Pennington: Both earned split decision wins on Saturday, but pairing them up together going forward also works as a means of keeping the 22-year-old Lucindo from being thrown in with a top-five opponent when she’s probably not quite ready, and getting Pennington a date with a ranked opponent who she matches up well with.
Alexander Hernandez: This one is challenging because despite having won each of his last two lightweight fights — and lost his last three featherweight appearances, while missing weight for one of them — “The Great Ape” seems bent on fighting at 145 pounds going forward. If that’s the case, line him up opposite Andre Fili and let’s see what happens.
Court McGee: “The Crusher” looked outstanding in the opener, delighting the crowd in his home state with a first-round submission win over Tim Means. The veteran has been a litmus test for ascending hopefuls for much of his career, and serving that role against someone like Oban Elliott feels like a reasonable follow up to his UFC 307 victory.