Alex Pereira defends his light heavyweight championship against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of two-title-fight UFC 307 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
The other title bout at Delta Center pits women's bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington against former champ Julianna Peña .
Saturday's main card is on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, preceded by prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. and early prelims on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m.
What are the storylines behind the top fights at UFC 307? How are experts breaking them down? What do the fighters have to say? Here is the fight card, how to watch it and a collection of all of the UFC 307 essentials.
How to watch the fights
Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here .
Watch the prelims on ESPNews. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV schedule
Don't have ESPNews? Get instant access .
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here .
There's also FightCenter , which offers live updates for every UFC card.
UFC 307 fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Light heavyweight championship: Alex Pereira (c) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Women's bantamweight championship: Raquel Pennington (c) vs. Julianna Peña
Men's bantamweight: José Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
Women's bantamweight: Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison
Middleweight: Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland
ESPNews/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET
Welterweight: Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley
Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo
Middleweight: Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria
Lightweight: Austin Hubbard vs. Alexander Hernandez
ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET
Light heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Strawweight: Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington
Welterweight: Court McGee vs. Tim Means
Defending champion = (c)
UFC 307 storylines: Alex Pereira headlines the oldest PPV card ever
When Alex Pereira defends his UFC light heavyweight championship for the third time on Saturday, it will have been just 99 days since he made his second title defense in late June. Pereira, who faces Khalil Rountree Jr. in the UFC 307 main event, is not one to sit idle. He made his first defense of the belt in April, only 77 days before his second.
To put Pereira's full-sprint run of championship activity in perspective, consider that of the other three UFC champs who have a fight currently booked, not one will step inside the cage having competed within the past 250 days. When Jon Jones puts his heavyweight title on the line in November, it will have been 580 days since he last fought.
But Rountree can delete Pereira's work-in-progress championship chapter this weekend with a single keystroke. The challenger is a sizable underdog (+385 at ESPN BET), but he packs an oversized punch. Rountree has won five fights in a row, four by knockout. He has produced seven knockouts and 13 knockdowns in his UFC career, both more than any other active light heavyweight. And he's vowed to stand and trade with Pereira, one of the most terrifying punchers in the sport.
That main event storyline promises to play out ferociously, but it's not the only intriguing one on Saturday's two-title-fight card in Salt Lake City. Here are five things to watch for.
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Ankalaev gets Pereira-Rountree winner? Pennington-Pena winner best at 135?
Real or not: Pereira-Rountree is the most entertaining fight at UFC 307.
Very real. This fight wasn't made because Rountree necessarily earned it. This fight is all about Pereira making yet another quick turnaround against an opponent who will stand and bang with him.
The style these two bring into the Octagon is a recipe for fireworks and likely won't require the judges to get involved in the outcome. There are some excellent fights at UFC 307 regarding potential action (Aldo-Mario Bautista, Stephen Thompson-Joaquin Buckley), but the level of violence that Pereira-Rountree could deliver is astronomically high. Fights like this aren't made by accident, and the UFC's social media team is probably already preparing to share the finish of that matchup. -- Andreas Hale
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