Bleacherreport
5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 307
N.Nguyen27 min ago
- Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Alex Pereira took out another dangerous contender at UFC 307, but his toughest test as light heavyweight champion is probably still to come. Pereira was back in action in the main event of the Saturday card in Salt Lake City, taking on fellow knockout artist Khalil Rountree. While it was a great fight on paper, the booking was the subject of some controversy, as many believed the title shot should have gone to No. 2-ranked Russian wrestler Magomed Ankalaev rather than Rountree. After Pereira stopped Rountree with a barrage of uppercuts in round four, the Ankalaev fight is probably next, and if it happens, it's arguably the toughest stylistic matchup of the Brazilian MMA career to date. Bantamweight champion Julianna Peña is also looking at a very tough matchup in the first title defense of her new reign. Peña reclaimed the title in the UFC 307 co-main event, taking a dubious decision win from Raquel Pennington. Her next fight will almost certainly pit her against former PFL champ Kayla Harrison, who moved to 2-0 in the UFC with a decision win over Ketlen Vieira earlier on the UFC 307 main card. Keep scrolling for our take on Pereira and Peña's next fights, as well as the best matchups for a few other big names on Saturday's card.
- Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Ahead of his fight with Rountree, Alex Pereira expressed interest in moving up to heavyweight, or back down to middleweight next. That suggested there was a good chance that No. 2 contender Magomed Ankalaev might get snubbed on a light heavyweight title shot again. Thankfully, Pereira's tune changed a bit after his win over Rountree. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he seemed intent on staying put at light heavyweight to defend his title. That should mean Ankalaev is next. If it is the Russian next, Pereira is looking at a nightmare matchup. Ankalaev is a great striker himself and has claimed he intends to strike with Pereira, but he's at his best as a wrestler. While Pereira's takedown defense has held up reasonably well so far, he has never faced a grappler with Ankalaev's ability. Pereira would probably enter the Octagon as a decent underdog, but this is the fight that needs to happen. Ankalaev has lost just once in 22 fights. He's on an incredible streak in the UFC and beat surprisingly good competition in the earlier phases of his career too. He deserves it — as much as it could spell the end of Pereira's incredibly entertaining title reign. Of course, all of this depends on Ankalaev beating Aleksandar at UFC 308 later this month, but if he does, there's only one choice for the next light heavyweight title fight.
- Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC People didn't give Khalil Rountree much chance in his UFC 307 fight with Alex Pereira. He's a proven knockout artist, but the expectation was that he'd quickly be dismantled by a more experienced and more technical striker. The challenger was full of surprises. While he was ultimately stopped in round four, he arguably won the first two rounds and even briefly dropped Pereira in the second. He didn't leave Salt Lake City with the belt, but he earned the respect of the fans and his fellow fighters. The best option for a new bout seems to be former champ Jamahal Hill. Hill hasn't fought since he was knocked out by Pereira at UFC 300 in April. He was briefly matched up with Rountree at UFC 303 in late June, but that fight fell through, and neither man ended up competing on the card. After Rountree's loss to Pereira, it still makes sense. It's a great fight on paper, and the winner would put themselves right back in title contention.
- Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC Julianna Peña is now a two-time bantamweight champion, having reclaimed the title with a very close decision win over Raquel Pennington in the UFC 307 co-main event. It's obvious who she'll fight next — even if she doesn't see it herself. The next woman in line for a bantamweight title shot is Kayla Harrison. The former PFL lightweight champ improved to 2-0 in the UFC earlier on Saturday's main card, defeating long-time Brazilian contender Ketlen Vieira by decision. She probably deserved a shot at the belt before Peña, but after UFC 307, she's undeniable. Unfortunately, Peña seems opposed to the matchup and has instead called for a trilogy fight with MMA legend Amanda Nunes, who is not only retired, but proved herself as Peña's clear superior in their second fight. Peña needs to face the facts. Nunes is retired and enjoying life with her family. Harrison is next in line. If the UFC can convince the champ that this is the reality, it would be one of the biggest bantamweight fights in recent memory. It could also turn out to be more competitive than expected, as Peña is still one of the best, and Harrison looked more human than usual against Vieira. Book it.
- Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Mario Bautista didn't win over any fans with his split-decision win over Jose Aldo, but it's still a win over Jose Aldo. The Brazilian is one of the greatest fighters ever, and beating him will always be impressive — even if you do it by pressing him into the cage for three rounds as Bautista did. Heading into UFC 307, Bautista was ranked No. 11 at bantamweight. After beating the tenth-ranked Aldo, he's got some interesting options. The best choice at the moment is seemingly China's Song Yadong. China's Song hasn't fought since he lost a decision to former champ Petr Yan in March, but will hopefully be ready to fight again soon — even if it's not in time for the UFC's upcoming return to Macau. As the No. 8-ranked bantamweight, he looks like just the right kind of test for the climbing Bautista. And if the Chinese fighter wins, he'll once again be in position for fights with top dogs like Yan.
- Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Joaquin Buckley was one of the biggest winners of the entire UFC 307 card. In the final bout of the undercard, the former middleweight took on two-time title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson at welterweight. While the fight was quite close through two rounds, Buckley put a decisive end to things in the third, crumpling his experienced foe with a right hook. The win brought Buckley 5-0 since dropping to welterweight, and it should set him up for somebody well inside the division's top-5. If he gets his way, that will mean a fight with former champ Kamaru Usman, but there are probably better options, like a fight with Ian Machado Garry. Ireland's Garry is almost in position for a title shot, but is still a few spots behind the likes of Usman, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Jack Della Maddalena in the queue. That means the Irishman will most likely need to take another fight in the meantime, and Buckley seems like the perfect opponent in that scenario.
Read the full article:https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10138313-5-fights-we-need-to-see-after-ufc-307
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