Alex Pereira just brought a different kind of brutality to the cage, and only a select few can withstand it.
Stopping Khalil Rountree with a hailstorm of punches in the fourth round of the UFC 307 headliner on Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, the Brazilian giant is the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship right-hander. He held the heavyweight title. Pereira (12-2, 9-1 UFC) finished the fight 4:32 into the fourth round.
Rountree (13-6, 9-6 UFC) briefly held his own. The Syndicate MMA representative buckled Pereira’s knees with a counter right hand in the second round, putting up a fierce fight against one of the most feared men in the sport. However, the high work rate and the damage he absorbed took its toll, and by the end of the third round the tide turned. Pereira tore apart the Los Angeles native with clean punches, low kicks and knees to the head, slicing open multiple cuts and showering blood on and around the canvas. A breathtaking final attack explosion. Pereira tore apart his body with two-handed hooks and then finished off The Ultimate Fighter Season 23 finalist with a slashing right uppercut.
Pereira, 37, has won five straight fights, four of them outright.
Meanwhile, Julianna Pena regained the undisputed UFC women’s bantamweight title with a controversial split decision over Raquel Pennington in a five-round co-main event. All three justice officials came up with a 48-47 scorecard: Pena’s Michael Bell and Sal D’Amato, and Pennington’s Derek Cleary.
The first round was a close one, with Pena gaining the upper hand for 10 minutes (12-5, 8-3 UFC). She secured takedowns in the second and third rounds, going backwards with body triangles and gaining significant control time, at one point finishing off a pass with a face crank. Pennington (16-9, 13-6 UFC) fought back in the fourth, knocking Shikujitsu down with a counter right hook, swarming him with follow-up punches and tossing him around with a guillotine choke. Pena appeared to be too tired to respond in the fifth round. Pennington moved forward with punches, once again staggering the “Venezuela Woman” and shaking off several clinch attempts. Those efforts ultimately failed.
The setback was Pennington’s first since she was defeated by Holly Holm in a rematch of UFC 246 on January 18, 2020.
Elsewhere, MMA Lab’s Mario Bautista used non-stop pressure and a relentless clinch game to score a unanimous decision over former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting Champion Jose Aldo in three rounds of a bantamweight showcase. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Bell and Cleary for Bautista and Chris Lee for Aldo.
The 31-year-old Bautista (15-2, 9-2 UFC) moved forward with a steady diet of body and head combinations and low kicks, often forcing the Brazilian legend into the fence against his will. Aldo (32-9, 14-8 UFC) spent far too much time with his back to the cage. Once in the clinch, Bautista was busy with knees to the legs, shoulder strikes, stomps, and the occasional overhead elbow. Aldo opened a cut above his protégé John Crouch’s right eye in the second round with a tight left hook, and they exchanged punches whenever they found space. However, his success turned out to be sporadic. Bautista stuffed him down the stretch, didn’t pay attention to the referee’s several restarts, and just let it get by.
Bautista has now won seven straight fights.
Also later on the card, former two-division Extreme Knockouts titleholder Kevin Holland suffered an apparent rib injury during a grapple with Roman Dolisez, rendering him unable to continue at middleweight. The pre-climactic stoppage was called between the first and second rounds.
Holland (26-12, 13-9 UFC) chipped away at the burly Georgian with jabs, leg kicks and occasional flurries of punches before getting a takedown. Dorise (14-3, 8-3 UFC), who replaced the injured Chris Curtis on short notice, seemed content to rack up points while using ground and pound to whittle down the clock. Holland moved his hips for an armbar, at which point he winced in pain and retreated into a defensive shell. Dorise then turned up the heat, eventually climbing to full mount and pulling punches until the horn sounded. After discussing the situation with Holland, his chief corner elected to cancel.
Dorise, 36, is on a winning streak.
In the end, two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison overcame stiff resistance to score a unanimous decision over Ketlen Vieira in three rounds in the women’s bantamweight title. All three cageside judges scored it for Harrison (18-1, 2-0 UFC): 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
Vieira (14-4, 8-4 UFC) caused significant damage with a close range elbow in the midfield that created a golf ball-sized hematoma above the American Top Team expert’s right eye. However, the tools and means were lacking. Keeping the two-time Olympic gold medalist at bay. Harrison scored takedowns in the first and third rounds, putting him in advantageous positions and unleashing ground-and-pound with elbows on the Andre Pederneiras disciple. Once the action spilled onto the mat, Vieira was virtually helpless.
Harrison, 34, has won three straight fights and appears to have established himself as the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds.
In the preliminary bout, Joaquin Buckley (UFC 20-6, UFC 10-4) takes on 2 minutes 17 seconds into the third round of the featured welterweight division, and Stephen Thompson (UFC 17-8-1, UFC 12) (1 win, 8 losses, 1 draw)) with a brutal right hand. Preliminary; Iasmin Lucindo (17-5, 4-1 UFC) defeats Marina Rodriguez (17-5-2, 7-5-2 UFC) 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 He was given a split verdict in three matches. -Round women’s strawweight match. Alexander Hernandez (15-8, 7-7 UFC), replacing Nate Landwehr on short notice, defeated Austin Hubbard (16-8, 4-6 UFC) by split decision — 27-30, 29 -28, 29-28—with 3 rounds of light tiff. Cesar Almeida (6-1, 2-1 UFC) defeated Ihor Potieria (20-7, 2-5 UFC) by unanimous decision in a three-round middleweight bout, making him 30-27. They swept the card in score. Board; Ryan Spann (22-10 KOs, 8-5 UFC) uses a guillotine choke on Ovince Saint Preux (27-18 KOs, 15-13 UFC) 1:35 into the first round of the light heavyweight bout. I controlled it. In the first round of the welterweight pairing, Court McGee (22-13 KOs, 11-12 UFC) defeated Tim Means (33-17-1, 21-14 UFC) with a neck crank. Tecia Pennington (14-7, 10-7 UFC) defeats retiring Carla Esparza (19-8, 10-6 UFC) by unanimous decision in three rounds in women’s strawweight, 29-28. , 29-28, cageside judges score 30-27.
