Quick results
Main Card (10 p.m. EDT) (PPV)
- Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree Jr. via TKO, Strikes (RD 4, 4:32) (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
- Julianna Pena def. Raquel Pennington via Decision, Split (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
- Mario Bautista def. Jose Aldo via Decision, Split
- Roman Dolidze def. Kevin Holland via TKO, Injury (RD 1, 5:00)
- Kayla Harrison def. Ketlen Vieira via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (8 p.m. EDT) (ESPNews / ESPN+)
- Joaquin Buckley def. Stephen Thompson via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:17)
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Marina Rodriguez via Decision, Split
- Alexander Hernandez def. Austin Hubbard via Decision, Split
- Cesar Almeida def. Ihor Potieira via Decision, Unanimous
Early Prelims (6:30 p.m. EDT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
- Ryan Spann def. Ovince St. Preux via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 1:35)
- Tecia Pennington def. Carla Esparza via Decision, Unanimous
- Court McGee def. Tim Means via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:19)
Alex Pereira delivers brutal fourth-round finish after toughest light heavyweight title fight yet
Alex Pereira received the biggest test yet for his reign as UFC Light Heavyweight Champion on Saturday night, heading into the fourth round against Khalil Rountree Jr. before earning a stoppage win with relentless boxing.
Pereira’s win, his third since capturing the belt in late 2023, headlined UFC 307 from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
After a back-and-forth battle in the opening rounds, including some promising moments early on from Rountree Jr., the fight turned into a one-sided beating by the fourth round.
A calculated and methodical Pereira started to unload significantly more in the fourth round, suddenly chasing Rountree Jr. down with boxing combinations. He was able to land his punches and stay out of the range of Rountree Jr.’s counter shots. The combinations bloodied the face of Rountree Jr., who started to respond less and focus moreso on defending himself. He backed up as Pereira continued to throw punches at a fast pace, providing a moment that displayed the challenger’s toughness.
The barrage from Pereira eventually became too much for Rountree Jr., who shelled up against the cage and folded to the canvas after consuming a combination of hooks to the body and head.
Rountree Jr. had his own moments prior to the finish, providing a solid challenge for Pereira and arguably even winning some rounds on scorecards. He found a home for his left cross early on, throwing the shot as part of a two-punch combination. While Pereira had a diversified style, throwing kicks to the legs along with his punches, Rountree Jr. was focused mainly on boxing.
Rountree Jr.’s biggest moment emerged when he capitalized on a missed head kick in the second round, using the moment to wobble Pereira with a clean hook. Pereira settled into the fight more in the third frame, shortly before the brutal finishing sequence later on.
“I can say that this was one of the toughest fights,” Pereira said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview. “I expected that … He showed tonight why he’s got so much quality in here.”
Pereira’s performance on Saturday likely closes out a dominant year for the champ, winning three consecutive title bouts. Earlier this year he won in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka as part of the promotion’s “International Fight Week” card, and scored a first-round finish over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
While the idea of moving to heavyweight was floated by broadcaster Joe Rogan afterward, Pereira mentioned that he enjoys the weight limit of light heavyweight and hopes to keep fighting in the division.
Rountree Jr. came into this weekend as a significant underdog, receiving a shot at the belt despite being eighth-ranked in the division. His loss on Saturday ends the best UFC run of his career thus far, winning five consecutive bouts since 2021 with four coming via finish.
Julianna Pena regains bantamweight belt in split decision over Raquel Pennington
Julianna Pena kicked off her second reign as UFC Bantamweight Champion on Saturday night, sneaking by Raquel Pennington to regain the title in her return bout.
The fight ended up coming down to how the judges saw the opening round of the bout, as the four frames that followed were identical on all three scorecards.
The fight opened with a close stand-up round on the feet, with the bantamweights letting punches go cautiously. Pena out-landed Pennington per official UFC stats, although it seemed like the defending champ was connecting with the better shots.
Pena pulled ahead in the second and third rounds of the fight, taking Pennington down for submission attempts. She was able to get on the back of Pennington in both rounds, threatening with a rear naked choke at times.
Pennington gained control of the fight in championship rounds, dropping Pena with a right hook in the fourth round and continuing to march her down with solid boxing until the end of the fight. Pena slowed her pace in the final rounds, either struggling with cardio or showing the damage of getting knocked down by a shot.
However, due to the three-round lead that Pena had already established on a pair of scorecards by that point, the late success by Pennington wasn’t enough to keep her title run alive.
Pena is now back on top of the bantamweight division, a class where she briefly held the title before. She pulled off a massive upset in late 2021 to capture the 135-pound belt, becoming one of the few names to beat Amanda Nunes. Decorated past champ Nunes later avenged the loss with a one-sided decision in 2022.
When asked about a fight against Kayla Harrison, who won earlier in the evening to arguably cement her status as the top bantamweight contender, Pena instead put her focus on a trilogy fight with the now-retired Nunes.
“What I’d really like is for Amanda Nunes to quit ducking and get into this Octagon,” she said.
Pennington, who captured her bantamweight title earlier this year with a win over Mayra Bueno Silva, mentioned afterward that she believed she did enough to win the fight. Many seem to agree with the now ex-champ, as the media submissions on MMADecisions.com show an overwhelming majority of scorecards in favor of her.
Mario Bautista takes scorecard nod in close battle against Jose Aldo
Mario Bautista got by UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo in a razor-thin split decision result, handing the former champ his first loss since coming back from retirement earlier this year.
A strong opening round paired with a third frame that likely went his way allowed Bautista to exit the UFC cage with a win on Saturday night, advancing his streak in the promotion currently.
Bautista was the aggressor in the opening round, out-landing a slow-starting Aldo. He drove Aldo up against the cage with takedown attempts, using the positions to control the fight and tire out the champ.
Aldo had a better second round, backing Bautista up with a hard jab and overall upping his activity. Focusing almost strictly on his boxing, Aldo was able to get back in the fight against a game Bautista.
The third round was arguably the closest of all. While Bautista controlled half the round in a clinch position, Aldo was still able to let his punches go when at stand-up range. Official UFC stats saw Aldo slightly out-land Bautista, connecting with 20 shots in the final five minutes of the bout.
The Salt Lake City crowd didn’t approve of the result, relentlessly booing Bautista as he gave a post-fight interview.
Aldo ended his year-and-a-half retirement from MMA in May, beating Jonathan Martinez on scorecards. He was hoping to overcome another tough contender at bantamweight this weekend in Bautista, who has now strung together an impressive seven victories since early 2022.
Rib injury forces Kevin Holland out of fight against Roman Dolidze after one round
A rib injury took Kevin Holland out of a middleweight fight after just one round, handing Roman Dolidze a victory and ending what was shaping up to be a competitive fight.
Holland visibly experienced pain while in a scramble with Dolidze on the ground, shouting out and awkwardly giving up a full mount position. While he endured a flurry of ground and pound shots from Dolidze in the final moments of the round, it became clear once he walked to his corner that a rib injury had significantly impacted his performance.
Holland was on the fence about exiting the fight due to the injury, and eventually, the call was made for the fight to stop. The fight was a close battle prior to the injury, with Holland getting some shots in on the feet before Dolidze was able to score a takedown. It seemed as if the fighters were still getting a feel for each other as the bout moved into the second frame.
The injury loss marks Holland’s first defeat since moving back up to middleweight earlier this year. He won in his return to the division four months back, submitting Michal Oleksiejczuk in the first round with an armbar.
Dolidze now has back-to-back wins this year, with his prior appearance being a decision over Anthony Smith.
Former PFL champ Kayla Harrison eyes title shot following latest win
Dominant work on the ground from Kayla Harrison earned her a unanimous decision win over Ketlen Vieira, potentially putting her next in line for a shot at the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
Harrison got the fight to the canvas in the first and third rounds, allowing her to connect with brutal ground and pound that made the rounds quite easy to score for the three judges at cage side.
While moments of the fight felt quite one-sided, the two-time PFL Champion’s victory didn’t come without some struggle. She notably had closer exchanges at striking range and in the clinch with Vieira, consuming an elbow in the second round that caused significant swelling on her forehead. However, she still proved to be a successful fighter on the feet, taking the stand-up-heavy second round on a pair of scorecards.
Harrison is likely to take Vieira’s second-place spot in the bantamweight division following her performance on Saturday night. The victory makes her a frontrunner for the belt, despite just making her promotional debut earlier this year with a win over Holly Holm.
“Ladies, enjoy it while you can because the queen is home and she’s coming for that f****** gold,” said Harrison in her post-fight interview, making it clear that she is targeting a shot at the belt soon.
Vieira was returning after more than a year out of the cage, with her previous appearance being a decision win over Pannie Kianzad in July 2023.
Two-time strawweight champ Carla Esparza retires
Former two-time UFC Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza stepped away from the sport on Saturday night, wrapping up her decorated MMA career following a unanimous decision loss against Tecia Pennington.
Pennington prevailed in a competitive and close three-round battle, one that saw Esparza empty the tank knowing that her career was soon coming to an end.
Esparza entered the UFC roster in 2014 following a record of nine wins and two losses on the regional scene, including appearances in Bellator and a brief title run in women’s MMA brand Invicta FC.
She became the strawweight division’s first-ever UFC champ by winning Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, defeating Rose Namajunas via third-round submission in the show’s final. Her first-ever title run came to an end in 2015 when she was stopped by Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Esparza continued to compete as a high-level name in the strawweight division for years, facing many of the division’s top names. In a rare case of a fighter having a career resurgence numerous years following their prior run on top, Esparza put together a five-fight winning streak to earn a title shot against long-time rival Namajunas in 2022.
Eight years after her first run, Esparza defeated Namajunas for the second time at UFC 274 to regain the UFC Strawweight Championship. She dropped the belt later that year to Zhang Weili, the division’s incumbent champ.
Saturday marked Esparza’s return after giving birth to her son a little over a year ago.
“It’s been an amazing journey these last 15 years,” Esparza said in her post-fight interview. “I’ve fought the best of the best. It’s not always easy, there’s ups and downs in this sport, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way.”
Prelim results: Joaquin Buckley delivers third-round knockout, Iasmin Lucindo breaks into strawweight’s top 10
Joaquin Buckley took scorecards out of the equation in a close battle against veteran Stephen Thompson, knocking him out cold in the third round with a brutal right hand. An advancing Buckley put Thompson out with a hard right hook, ending a fight that saw Thompson find success as a counter-striker in the prior rounds. The win continues an impressive five-fight winning streak for Buckley, who previously also stopped Vicente Luque in March.
Iasmin Lucindo got her arm raised after a pivotal fight in the strawweight rankings, securing a top-10 place in the division after beating Marina Rodriguez in a split decision result. The takedown skills and ground control of Lucindo allowed her to both lead the fight at times and break up strong moments from Rodriguez. The 22-year-old has now won four consecutive appearances and will likely go as high as sixth in the division’s official rankings by next week.
Alexander Hernandez won in his return to the lightweight division, getting by Austin Hubbard in a split decision outcome. Hernandez had a strong start to the fight, doing enough with his striking to get the nod despite Hubbard having a strong final round at stand-up range. The victory is a bounce-back for him after suffering a pair of losses down at featherweight over the past year.
Kickboxing specialist Cesar Almeida bounced back from his sole MMA loss with a unanimous decision win over Ihor Potieria, clearing scorecards to walk away as the successful middleweight. While Almeida showed success both on the feet and in ground positions, a controversial performance from referee Dave Seljestad stole the show. The fight went without any point deductions despite numerous fouls, and many clinch positions were separated due to inactivity just seconds after beginning.
Ryan Spann scored an important win on Saturday’s prelims, snapping a three-fight skid with a first-round submission victory over veteran Ovince St. Preux. Spann hurt St. Preux with a right hand in the second minute of the fight, then went to the ground with a guillotine choke to secure a tap. The submission result marked Spann’s first victory since late 2022 and ended the longest losing streak of his career.
Utah’s own Court McGee opened the night with a quick win, beating fellow veteran Tim Means in the first round with a rear naked choke. He was able to get the fight down early, then got on the back of Means to apply the choke and force a tap in three-and-a-half minutes. The submission was a big win for McGee, who snapped a three-fight skid and scored his first win since early 2022. It also marked his first victory inside his home state in roughly eight years.
