The UFC is set to kick off its packed October schedule with a double dose of championship bouts headlining this weekend’s much-anticipated card.
With that in mind, here’s what you need to know this week ahead of the 11th numbered UFC event of the year.
WHO IS ON THE CARD?
UFC 307 is headlined by a light heavyweight championship bout between Alex Pereira and Khalil Roundtree Jr., plus a women’s bantamweight title fight between current titleholder Raquel Pennington and one-time former champ Julianna Pena.
Former UFC champions Jose Aldo and Carla Esparza, two-time Olympic gold medallist judoka Kayla Harrison plus Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson are among the other stars set to compete.
More on the full fight card below.
WHERE AND WHEN DOES UFC 307 TAKE PLACE?
UFC 307: Pereria vs. Rountree Jr. takes place on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
This is the UFC’s third event in as many years in the Utah capital. The organization held UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 there in 2022 and UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gethje 2 for the BMF Title in 2023.
The UFC 307 pay-per-view main card begins at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT and is available to order through Sportsnet+. Preliminary card coverage on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ gets underway at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY CHANGES TO THE FIGHT CARD?
Unfortunately, an anticipated featherweight matchup between unbeaten Movsar Evloev and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was postponed and rescheduled for UFC 310 in December after Sterling, who won his first UFC contest up at 145 pounds back at UFC 300, sustained an injury during training.
Touted lightweight Mauricio Ruffy was also expected to fight at the event, however, matchmakers were unable to find him an opponent so he was ultimately not included.
Meanwhile, a lightweight bout between Austin Hubbard and Alexander Hernandez was officially added to the card over the weekend. Hubbard was originally expected to face Nate Landwehr who withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
The Evloev vs. Sterling matchup was slated to take place on the main card, so the UFC had to shuffle the bout order. It had not been finalized as of Monday afternoon, although the projected 12-bout lineup is expected to be as follows…
MAIN CARD
— Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (for light heavyweight title)
— Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena (for women’s bantamweight title)
— 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
— Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria
— Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux
— Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington
— Court McGee vs Tim Means
— Austin Hubbard vs. Alexander Hernandez
WHO’S ON THE CALL?
The UFC’s A Team of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier will be on the call cage-side with Megan Olivi reporting backstage.
Anik, Rogan and Cormier are typically the broadcast team for American-based PPV events and that trio was mere feet away from Pereira during his two wins earlier this year at UFC 300 and again at UFC 303.
WHAT ELSE IS SCHEDULED DURING FIGHT WEEK?
Media Day: Official UFC 307 events begin Wednesday when athletes will speak with gathered reporters. Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter will be on site so stay tuned to Sportsnet.ca throughout the week for exclusive one-on-one fighter interviews.
Pre-fight Press Conference: UFC 307 main card athletes will participate Thursday at the Salt Palace Convention Center beginning at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.
Official Weigh-ins: All fighters will have a two-hour window Friday morning (11 a.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT to 10 a.m. PT) to step on the scale and get down to their contracted weight.
Ceremonial Weigh-ins: Later on Friday, once all official weights have been recorded and the athletes have begun rehydrating, opponents will face off on the eve of the card beginning at approximately 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT.