The UFC made its fourth trip to Salt Lake City and fight fans were treated to an action-packed card that saw plenty of narrow victories on Saturday
Alex Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight belt for a third time, dismantling Khalil Rountree Jr. in the UFC 307 main event. Meanwhile, the women’s bantamweight title made its way back into the hands of Julianna Pena after she captured the belt for a second time, dethroning Raquel Pennington in the process.
In addition to those two championship matchups, the 12-fight card at the Delta Center on Saturday also saw Mario Bautista secure the biggest win of his career, Kayla Harrison continue her meteoric rise and Joaquin Buckley pull off a late stunner.
Here are the official results for UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.
MAIN CARD
Alex Pereira defeats Khalil Rountree Jr. via TKO at 4:32 of Round 4
CHAMA! The remarkable championship story of “Poatan” adds another chapter with a third title defence in seven months.
Pereira withstood Rountree Jr.’s early onslaught and surgically pieced up “The War Horse” through the third and fourth rounds to secure a fifth straight victory.
Julianna Pena defeats Raquel Pennington via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
And new! In her first fight since losing the women’s bantamweight title to Amanda Nunes two years ago, “The Venezuelan Vixen” re-claimed the belt thanks to a strong start paying off on the scorecards.
Mario Bautista defeats Jose Aldo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Despite fighting a UFC Hall of Famer, Bautista showed no signs of being starstruck as he eked out a win against Aldo.
The American entered the cage as the 11th-ranked bantamweight and left in the 10th spot after taking down the Brazilian MMA icon for a seventh consecutive victory.
Roman Dolidze defeats Kevin Holland via TKO at 5:00 of Round 1
It was an unorthodox victory for the No. 10-ranked middleweight as Doldidze broke one of Holland’s ribs while attempting to secure ground control, putting an abrupt end to the contest due to injury.
Kayla Harrison defeats Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
It wasn’t as flawless as her UFC debut but Harrison (literally) took down the No. 2-ranked women’s bantamweight contender in order to improve to 2-0 under the banner.
The two-time gold medalist judoka, now 18-1-0 in MMA, appears destined for a title shot after another impressive victory.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Joaquin Buckley defeats Stephen Thompson via KO at 2:17 of Round 3
“New Mansa” came out firing in the final round of a bout he was seemingly losing to that point and the aggressiveness paid off for Buckley as he connected on a leaping hook that turned off Thompson’s lights.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the No. 11 welterweight, this time against the ninth-ranked contender as he remains undefeated since moving to 170 pounds.
Iasmin Lucindo defeats Marina Rodriguez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
In a bout between ranked strawweight contenders, it was No. 14 Lucindo — the youngest woman in the UFC — coming out on top at the expense of fellow Brazilian and No. 6 Rodriguez while picking up her fourth consecutive victory in the process.
Alexander Hernandez defeats Austin Hubbard via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
There was no shortage of cracking blows from both lightweights on Saturday and it was Hernandez who got back in the win column once the dust settled, picking up just his second victory through his last six octagon appearances.
Cesar Almeida defeats Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
In a bout that included a shot below the belt, four eye pokes and zero points deducted, it was the perpetrator of those acts, Almeida who came out victorious as he improved to 6-1 in MMA.
Ryan Spann defeats Ovince Saint Preux via submission at 1:35 of Round 1
“Superman” snapped his three-fight skid in emphatic fashion by tagging the light heavyweight veteran Saint Preux with a couple of quick strikes before locking in a guillotine for the speedy victory.
Tecia Pennington defeats Carla Esparza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
A decorated MMA career for “The Cookie Monster” falls short of a story-book ending as the former two-time UFC strawweight champ ends her career in the cage with a second-consecutive loss.
Court McGee defeats Tim Means via submission at 3:19 of Round 1
Utah native “The Crusher” lived up to his nickname on Saturday as he locked in a rear-naked choke minutes into the welterweight bout, securing victory in front of a home crowd and snapping a three-fight losing streak in the process.