No matter how busy you think you’ve been at work this year, I can almost guarantee you UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has been busier.
Saturday’s fight against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City will be Pereira’s fourth championship fight in less than one year. Most UFC champs are doing well if they can squeeze two title defenses into a single year. In the higher weight classes, a lot of them have been content with making the walk just once every 12 months.
But Pereira? He’s been a workhorse for the UFC. Whenever UFC calls, desperate for some title fight to plug a hole on an upcoming pay-per-view, Pereira has answered. Very noble of him. Also probably very profitable. But at some point, you do have to wonder if he’s not stretching himself a little thin.
Enter Rountree. When he proactively admitted to ingesting a banned substance, thus scuttling a planned fight with Jamahal Hill in June, no one thought his next fight would be for the 205-pound belt. Still, the same schedule that produces demands on some fighters also provides opportunities for others. And while Rountree is about as under-the-radar as a title challenger can be — he’s in the bottom half of the top 10 and going off as a +390 underdog at the moment — he’s also a dangerous man to stand in front of for too long.
Is this where Pereira finally pays a price for his hectic schedule? Is it where Rountree proves he might actually be pretty good whether you’ve heard of him or not? Or is it just another chance for the champ to remind us that preparing for five-round title fights isn’t so tough when you finish them all inside of two?
Answers to these and other questions are soon to come. Now for a quick look at what else the UFC 307 main card has to offer.
Betting odds courtesy of BetMGM.
Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland
Who they are: Holland is a born entertainer who also sometimes wins fights (though less and less so these past couple years). Dolidze is a middleweight still trying to prove he can hang with the top guys in the weight class, though results for that project have been mixed.
Why it matters: Dolidze lost two straight once he moved up the 185-pound ladder, then rebounded with a win at light heavyweight over Anthony Smith this summer. He needs another victory over a name opponent to be taken seriously at middleweight again. Holland is fun enough to have around that he doesn’t have to win them all — but he does still need to win some. A loss to Dolidze would signal he’s more light than heat these days.
Ketlen Viera vs. Kayla Harrison
Who they are: Harrison is the former two-time PFL champ and two-time Olympic gold medalist who really seems like she ought to be fighting for the UFC women’s bantamweight title already. Viera is not quite a sacrificial lamb here, but at +600, oddsmakers seem to think she’s at least in the neighborhood.
Why it matters: This is partially a backup fight for the co-main event, but it’s also here to lay the groundwork for Harrison versus whoever the 135-pound champ is at the end of the night. Any result that interrupts that effort would be a major shock — and also very unlikely.
José Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
Who they are: Aldo is only one of the best featherweight champions of all time who then went down a weight class late in his career and actually made that look like a good idea, which is almost never how it goes. Bautista is the guy on the come-up, riding a six-fight winning streak and trying to steal some of that shine.
Why it matters: If Bautista can pull off a win over Aldo, that still means something. And if Aldo can keep fending off these whippersnappers, it proves he’s still a legitimate force in this division. Father Time will bring him down eventually, but Aldo’s already shown he won’t go quietly.
Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena
Who they are: Pennington is the current women’s bantamweight champ after winning a decision to claim the vacant title in January. Peña is the former champ who had a cup of coffee with the belt after pulling off a huge upset over women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes (who promptly took the belt right back in the rematch).
Why it matters: The 135-pound weight class used to be the glamor division for women’s MMA. Ever since Nunes peaced out the game, however, it’s felt like an afterthought. No one has really cemented herself as the true top dog, and fan interest in even these title fights feels like it’s at an all-time low. The winner here is almost sure to defend the belt against Harrison soon, but this is a chance for someone to put their stamp on the division — at least for the time being.
Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Who they are: Pereira is the 205-pound champ who’s been dusting off challengers with the greatest of ease since moving up to claim his second title in a second UFC division. Rountree is the underrated slugger who finds himself in a championship fight by the vagaries of the UFC calendar.
Why it matters: If Pereira can notch another successful title defense, it might be time to reconsider his offer to move up to heavyweight. (No offense to Magomed Ankalaev, who probably deserved this title shot; it’s just that no one really cares about him all that much.) If Rountree pulls off the upset, he’ll be responsible for one of the biggest shocks of the year in MMA — and he’ll probably be forced to turn right around and do it again. Either way, this fight offers us another chance to watch Pereira speed run a Hall of Fame MMA career. You have to admit it’s gone amazingly well so far.
