It is time to preview UFC 307. The event will go down in Salt Lake City, Utah and features two title fights. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
UFC 307 Preview And Predictions
UFC 307 will go down in Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be the location’s third PPV in the same amount of years. Those events both lead to wild nights with insane knockouts. At this point, UFC fans should expect the unexpected in Salt Lake City. In this trip to the city, the UFC is bringing two title fights. In the main event, Alex Pereira will attempt to defend his light heavyweight title. Raquel Pennington will do the same for the women’s bantamweight division.
James: The UFC 307 main card features a women’s bantamweight bout between Ketlen Vieira and Kayla Harrison. This fight is likely a title eliminator bout. That is especially true if Harrison is victorious. Harrison is an Olympic gold medalist in Judo and has a 17-1 professional MMA record. In her only UFC fight, she dominated Holly Holm. Vieira is 8-3 and is coming off a win over Pannie Kianzad.
Harrison’s Judo background is evident in her approach to MMA. In the clinch, she has a great selection of takedowns. Once she gets on top, she has ridiculously ground and pound. Plus, she can threaten with submissions. It should also be noted that Harrison has ridiculous physicality. This helps her overall grappling game because she always holds a strength advantage.
Vieira is a well-rounded fighter with striking and grappling skills. In the standup, she is long, has power, and lands damaging strikes. This comes while being able to mix in grappling. Vieira can land takedowns and win clinch exchanges.
This UFC 307 preview heavily favors Harrison. The gold medalist will have a massive physicality edge and is more aggressive. That is on top of her elite clinch skills. In turn, she should be able to get in the clinch, land takedowns, and deal out damage. I will take Harrison by second-round knockout .
Garrett: Harrison via decision
Jerry: Harrison via submission
Anthony: Harrison via KO/TKO
No. 10 Roman Dolidze vs. No. 15 (WW) Kevin Holland- Middleweight Bout
James: At UFC 307, Kevin Holland will fight Roman Dolidze. This is an unexpected fight because of each fighter’s size. Holland has competed at both welterweight and middleweight. Meanwhile, Dolidze is a middleweight who competed at light heavyweight in his last bout. Understandably, the pair will meet in the middle but it was unexpected. Recently both fighters are coming off wins that snapped two-fight losing streaks.
Holland is a fighter who depends on his length. At six-foot-three, he holds an 81-inch reach. This provides him with long punches and a wide array of kicks. If his opponent closes the distance, he can find success in boxing exchanges. On the ground, Holland has serious takedown defense issues; however, he does have serious submission skills. This is best seen in his front choke series.
Dolidze is a dangerous fighter with power and submission skills. On the feet, he is not technical. Instead, he will throw big hooks. If he can land these shots, they do power, but he often misses. On the ground, Dolidze has a creative submission game that he uses to finish fights, land strikes, and reverse positions.
This UFC 307 preview has areas that favor both fighters. Holland will be much quicker and should be able to win the majority of the striking exchanges. Although, Dolidze’s size and wrestling will present serious issues. The game plan for Dolidze should be to attempt takedowns and attempt to control position. Ultimately, I will lean toward Holland. I believe his cardio and durability edge will be useful in this bout. That should allow him to edge out the decision while being the better striker. I will take Holland by decision .
No. 10 Jose Aldo vs. No. 11 Mario Bautista- Bantamweight Bout
James: At UFC 307, Jose Aldo will fight Mario Bautista. This is Aldo’a second fight since unretiring and returning to the UFC. In his return, he defeated Jonathan Martinez and proved he is still a sensational fighter . Regardless, Aldo is 38 and is in the later portion of his career. The legend has made a massive impact in the sport and is looking to add a few more wins to his resume. Bautista will be another tough test for the legend. The 31-year-old rising contender is 8-2 in the UFC and is riding a six-fight win streak. If Aldo is victorious, it would put him in a position to start climbing the rankings once again.
In recent years, Aldo has leaned more toward his boxing skills. This has been effective because of his technical prowess, shot selection, and defense. Aldo does not eat a ton of clean shots and digs to the body regularly. Those things are both lost arts in MMA. Despite not using his leg kicks as much as he did in his prime, Aldo can still mix that weapon into his attack. In the grappling realm, Aldo has some of the best takedown defenses of all time. At times, he will also land takedowns to help him win close rounds. The problem with Aldo is that his cardio is no longer great and he can struggle when pressured.
Bautista has shown that he is a problem in the bantamweight division. This is because of his overall mix of striking, grappling, and cardio. On the feet, he is a solid striker who throws a ton of volume. That said, his wrestling is his best skill. Bautista leverages his takedown offense and cardio to continuously land takedowns. In the top position, he advances and looks for submission. This is all done while typically holding the cardio edge in close scraps.
This UFC 307 bout is the closest on the entire card. It is very reasonable to craft a case for either fighter. I expect Aldo to use his takedown defense to keep this fight standing. That is especially true in the early moments. Aldo should be the sharper and more powerful striker when both fighters are fresh. That should help him win round one. That said, at some point, this fight will turn toward Bautista as he pressures with volume striking. In turn, he should win the third round. I expect this fight to be decided by round two. Aldo should be able to use his veteran-savvy and fight IQ to edge out that round. I will take Aldo by decision .
James: The UFC 307 co-main event features a women’s bantamweight title fight between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena. The division is getting back into rhythm after Amanda Nunes’ retirement . Pennington won the vacant title with a decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva. Meanwhile, Pena is a former champion working to regain the throne. The challenger won and lost the belt against Nunes after going 1-1 in their pair of bouts.
Pennington is a fighter with a solid grasp of the basics. That is a compliment. A lot of fighters have flashy skills that lack substance. Pennington has fundamental skills that win fights. This can be seen in her boxing and clinch work. These skills allow her to win minutes at various ranges.
Pena has some solid skills. On the feet, she has impactful jabs and leg kicks. Plus, she has offensive wrestling. These skills are present alongside great durability and cardio. Those physical traits add to her skills to give her advantages in the later rounds.
The UFC 307 main event preview favors Pennington. Pennington is also a durable fighter with solid cardio. That limits Pena’s potential to find success in the later rounds. Meanwhile, I prefer Pennington’s boxing to Pena’s which will help her win the rounds needed to get the decision. I will take Pennington by decision .
(C) Alex Pereira vs. No. 8 Khalil Rountree- Light Heavyweight Championship Bout
James: The UFC 307 main event features a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree. Pereira has been on a spectacular run while in the UFC. The former kickboxer is 8-1 in the UFC and has won belts in two weight classes. A win over Rountree would be his consecutive title defense. Rountree has been rushed to this title opportunity. That is a credit to his five-fight win streak that featured multiple violent finishes .
Pereira is a dangerous kickboxer with devastating power. This is a pillar of his skills. Pereira’s power allows him to finish a fight at any moment, but it also tends to make his opponent hesitant, reducing their offensive output. In terms of specific skills, Pereira’s best weapons are his leg kick and left hook. The leg kick immobilizes opponents and the hook knocks them. On top of those skills, Pereira can take his kicks to all three levels, throw the jab, and dig to the body. The flaws in his game are in his defense. This is most obvious in his grappling defense. His striking defense and durability are not as strong as you would expect for a credentialed kickboxer.
Rountree is a striker with an emphasis on Muay Thai. This can immediately be seen in his stance. In turn, he has solid defense. Rountree keeps himself safe from big hooks and checks leg kicks. Offensively, he can land big strikes from multiple angles. At times, Rountree will get wild to land big hooks, but he can also land with straight shots down the pipe. Plus, he will establish leg kicks.
In every Pereira fight, it is important to analyze whether or not his opponent will attempt takedowns. In this matchup, both fighters have combined for one takedown attempt. Pereira was the fighter who logged that takedown. I doubt we see much grappling in the UFC 307 main event.
In theory, Rountree could present Pereira with some issues. This is mostly because he is a southpaw. This will make it harder for Pereira to land his left hook or leg kick. That is a serious issue. Additionally, Rountree has the power required to crack Pereira’s chin. The catch is that Pereira has some advantages he does not always hold. Usually, Pereira is much bigger than his opponent, but it is quite noticeable in this matchup. The champion is three inches taller and has a four-inch reach advantage.
The UFC 307 main event preview favors Pereira. I expect his size advantage to be crucial in this fight. Pereira should be able to win minutes from the outside with his jab and body kick. Plus, he can use his clinch offense because of Rountree’s limited takedown offense. This will give him chances to clinch his knees while also racking up control time. Ultimately, this could all be null if Rountree aggressively looks to get in the pocket and swing big. That will give both fighters chances to land a knockout. Overall, I think Rountree is much more live than he is getting credit for; however, I cannot pick him to win the fight. Pereira has clear paths to success despite the danger present. I will take Pereira by second-round knockout .
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