Pereira vs Rountree!
#UFC307 from @Delta CenterIt will be held in Utah on October 5th!State Sports
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— Dana White (@danawhite)
August 16, 2024
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is committed to making its big October show one to remember.
On Friday, UFC announced a number of bouts for its upcoming UFC 307 show on October 5. The main and co-main events for the night, which will be held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, were also announced, but the card will feature several more bouts worthy of being Fight Night main events. While the layout of the bouts on the card is currently unknown, Roman Dolidze (13-3, 1 NO) will take on Kevin Holland (26-11, 1 NO) in place of Chris Curtis at middleweight, and Stephen Thompson (17-7-1) will face Joaquin Buckley (19-6) at welterweight.
In June, the Georgian replaced Carlos Urberg in a rescheduled round-robin bout and ultimately faced Anthony Smith. At the UFC 303 event, Dolidze outclassed the veteran to move up a weight class by unanimous decision. Now back at 185 pounds, Dolidze will look to wash away the taste of two decision losses to Marvin Vetri and Nassurdin Imavov in 2023 and early 2024, respectively.
Holland won again in June, breaking Michal Oleksiejczuk’s arm with a counter armbar after being dropped. “The Trailblazer” has been an inconsistent fighter in his last few bouts, winning two bouts before losing his next two. The cycle began in 2022, when he won by stoppage over Alex Oliveira and Tim Means, but was stopped by Khamzat Chimaev and Thompson in consecutive bouts. He then bounced back with back-to-back wins against Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michael Chiesa, only to lose two straight bouts to Jack Della Maddalena and Michael Page. If this pattern continues, he’ll win his next bout, then lose two straight.
“Wonderboy” will be making his first appearance this year against kickboxer Buckley, who is looking to bounce back after a submission loss to Shavkat Rahmonov at the end of 2023. Thompson has just one win since 2020, coming in the fourth round when Holland sustained injuries to both hands. The 41-year-old South Carolina native has made it to the second round in 12 consecutive bouts.
Buckley, who shifted back to welterweight in 2023, has been a formidable contender at lightweight. In the past 15 months, “The New Mantha” has knocked out Andre Fialho and Vicente Luque, as well as winning by decision over Alex Morono and Nursulton Ruzhboev. Buckley had previously sought a rematch with Holland, but the two faced off in 2020, with Holland coming out on top.
UFC 307 will take place on October 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The pay-per-view show will close with a light heavyweight title bout between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree, while the co-main event will feature a bantamweight championship bout between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Peña. Other major bouts include 135-pound Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira and featherweight Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling.
