5 things to watch out for at UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr

Next weekend, the UFC will visit Salt Lake City for a major pay-per-view. It promises to be one of the finest UFC events of 2024.

UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr will see a number of excellent fights go down, and so there is plenty to watch out for.

Which questions will be answered in Salt Lake City, and who will come out on top? Only time will tell.

Here are five things to watch out for at UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.

---

#5 The UFC may have made an error in putting Buckley vs. Thompson on the prelims

UFC 307 is undoubtedly a loaded card. The preliminary portion of the event features some big names, including a former champion and a number of regular headliners.

However, could the promotion regret putting the welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Joaquin Buckley on the prelims and not the main card? It's possible.

'Wonderboy' and 'New Mansa' are both ranked in the top fifteen at 170 pounds, with Buckley looking to climb up the ladder and Thompson desperate to hold onto his spot.

More to the point, both men are usually involved in exciting bouts, with Buckley in particular famous for his viral spinning back kick finish from 2020.

Therefore, it could've been a better idea to give them a main card showcase, particularly over the middleweight bout between Kevin Holland and Roman Dolidze.

On a loaded card like this, at least one big fight will end up on the prelims - but this time, whether it should've been Buckley vs. Thompson is questionable.

---

#4 Is Kevin Holland ready to compete in the middleweight division this time around?

Back in 2020, Kevin Holland turned himself from a lower-end action fighter to a genuine contender at 185 pounds by winning a UFC record five fights in a single calendar year.

2021, though, couldn't have gone much worse for 'The Trailblazer'. He lost to both Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson, with both men largely using their wrestling and size to hold him down.

Those losses knocked Holland out of title contention, and so he moved back to 170 pounds, where he went 4-4. However, it still felt like a more natural weight class for him.

That changed earlier this year, when 'The Trailblazer' moved back to 185 pounds and submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk in a single round.

What was perhaps most impressive about his win over Oleksiejczuk was the fact that he pulled off a rapid submission from the bottom. Sure, he was knocked down, not taken down, but the point still stands.

If he's now dangerous from the bottom, then is it likely he'll lose by being held down on his back again? It doesn't feel that way.

This weekend will see Holland face No.10 ranked Roman Dolidze. If he can win, then not only would he be back in the spot where he was at the end of 2020, but he may well have shown that this time around, he's ready for the top 185 pounders.

---

#3 Mario Bautista will need to step up to another level to beat Jose Aldo

The rise of Mario Bautista up the bantamweight ladder has been a relatively quiet one. Despite being part of the UFC since 2019, few fans have really taken notice of the 31-year old.

However, when he beat Ricky Simon in a thriller to crack the top fifteen earlier this year, he marked himself as a man to watch.

At UFC 307, though, he'll need to step up his game - big time - if he wants to come out on top.

Bautista has been matched with legendary former featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the Brazilian's second fight back following his temporary retirement from 2022 until earlier this year.

On paper, it's a huge opportunity for Bautista to make his mark. A win over Aldo would not only represent the biggest of his career, but it also has the potential to turn him into a star.

To do so, though, he'll have to kick his game to another level entirely. Aldo might be older and past his best now, but he's still a remarkably skilled fighter who easily got past another rising star in Jonathan Martinez this year.

Can Bautista really defeat the former champion? Based on what we've seen so far, it feels doubtful. However, some fighters manage to step up to the plate when they really need to, and Bautista could well be one of those.

Finding out whether he can do so - or whether he'll fall short - is one of the most fascinating questions going into next weekend's pay-per-view.

---

#2 The winner of Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena might be seen as a placeholder for Kayla Harrison

UFC 307 will feature two key fights in the women's bantamweight division, and both are intrinsically linked together.

In the night's co-headliner, Raquel Pennington will defend her title against former champion Julianna Pena.

Meanwhile, on the main card, Kayla Harrison will fight Ketlen Vieira in a de facto top contender's bout.

What makes this situation so fascinating, though, is the fact that in the eyes of many fans, Harrison and not Pena ought to be getting the title shot.

After all, the Olympic gold medalist destroyed Holly Holm in her octagon debut earlier this year, while Pena has not fought since her 2022 loss to Amanda Nunes.

Essentially, then, if Harrison can dismantle Vieira in Salt Lake City in similar fashion to how she did to Holm, then it'll be hard to shake the idea of her being the uncrowned champ at 135 pounds.

Both Pennington and Pena are both great fighters in their own right. Harrison, though, looks like the kind of physical monster that this division hasn't seen since the heyday of Nunes - or perhaps even the heyday of Ronda Rousey a decade ago.

Therefore, if Harrison looks great again, unless Pennington or Pena produce something special, it'll be hard not to view them as little more than a placeholder champion going into 2025.

---

#1 Will Alex Pereira's title defense against Khalil Rountree Jr be as easy as everyone expects?

It isn't a stretch to call Alex Pereira the star attraction at UFC 307. 'Poatan' has risen to the top of the promotion arguably quicker than any other fighter has done before, and he now stands as the 205 pound division's poster-boy.

Next weekend's pay-per-view will see Pereira attempt to defend his title for the third time when he takes on Khalil Rountree Jr.

Given that 'The War Horse' is only ranked at No.8 in the division and hasn't truly earned his title shot, it feels like most observers are expecting an easy win for Pereira.

After all, Rountree would not be favored to beat either Jiri Prochazka or Jamahal Hill, and Pereira destroyed both of those fighters with ease.

Still, as we've seen so many times before, nothing is for certain in the octagon. Rountree carries incredible knockout power, and Pereira has been knocked out before.

So will Pereira's title defense at UFC 307 be as easy as most fans expect it to be? On paper at least, it ought to be, but stranger things have happened before.

After all, past UFC champions like Brandon Moreno, Julianna Pena and Sean Strickland were all viewed as 'easy' title defenses before they produced incredible upsets. It isn't likely, but Rountree joining them is not impossible by any means.