When Alex Pereira defends his UFC gentle heavyweight championship for the third time on Saturday, it is going to have been simply 99 days since he made his second title protection in late June. Pereira, who faces Khalil Rountree Jr. within the UFC 307 major occasion (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET), isn't one to sit idle. He made his first protection of the belt in April, solely 77 days earlier than his second.
To put Pereira's full-sprint run of championship exercise in perspective, think about that of the opposite three UFC champs who've a struggle at the moment booked, not one will step contained in the cage having competed inside the previous 250 days. When Jon Jones places his heavyweight title on the road in November, it is going to have been 580 days since he final fought.
Pereira isn't a record-setter, although, not even shut. In 2020, Deiveson Figueiredo defended the boys's flyweight title twice inside 21 days. And Pereira can be miles away from one other 125-pound document holder. The lately retired Demetrious Johnson put the championship up for grabs 11 instances throughout a steady reign of almost six years. Even if Pereira can sustain his present tempo and preeminence, he would wish over two years to catch up.
Don't put something previous him, however Pereira is not essentially chasing “Mighty Mouse” and his spectacular run versus thirsting to simply beat one other opponent. He's talked of shifting again down to middleweight, the place he as soon as was a champion, to problem Dricus Du Plessis for his outdated belt. He's additionally spoken of leaping the queue of heavyweights lined up in entrance of Jones and going for the twin unprecedented accomplishments of beating the GOAT and securing a strap in a 3rd weight class.
No matter which manner Pereira turns, a spot within the historical past e book awaits him on the horizon.
But Rountree can delete Pereira's work-in-progress championship chapter this weekend with a single keystroke. The challenger is a large underdog (+385 at ESPN BET), however he packs an outsized punch. Rountree has gained 5 fights in a row, 4 by knockout. He has produced seven knockouts and 13 knockdowns in his UFC profession, each greater than another lively gentle heavyweight. And he is vowed to stand and commerce with Pereira, probably the most terrifying punchers within the sport.
That major occasion storyline guarantees to play out ferociously, however it's not the one intriguing one on Saturday's two-title-fight card in Salt Lake City. Here are 5 issues to look ahead to.
1. Somebody's ‘0' does not have to go
Rountree has been within the UFC for eight years, competing 15 instances and amassing just below two hours of struggle time. Yet in all of his massive moments contained in the Octagon, Rountree has accomplished zero takedowns — as a result of he hasn't even tried one.
Considering the kickboxing pedigree and lights-out energy of Pereira — and the champ's far much less developed grappling sport — it could be clever to take him down to the canvas, no? Rountree isn't .
“I have no intention of shooting any takedowns or trying to take what people would consider the easy route. Honestly, I want to put on a fight to remember,” Rountree stated throughout a latest episode of Michael Bisping's “Believe You Me” podcast. “This is a fight that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life, … so I want to deliver the same thing for the fans. I want this to be one of those fights where people talk about for years to come.”
That promise might silence the murmurs questioning why the UFC would hand a title shot to a 205-pounder not even within the high 5. If Rountree, No. 7 within the ESPN rankings, is true to his phrase, Saturday night time's headliner must be a crowd-pleaser.
2. The household that fights collectively …
Alayah Rose Pennington might be 16 months outdated on struggle night time — a bit of younger to purchase pay-per-views. But if she did have entry to a TV and cartoons weren't on, she would have a number of UFC 307 rooting pursuits. Both of her mothers might be preventing.
Tecia Pennington, competing for the second time since giving beginning in June 2023, will tackle two-time former strawweight champion Carla Esparza in an early preliminary bout. And that is simply an appetizer for what the household meal will serve up later within the co-main occasion, when Raquel Pennington defends her bantamweight title in opposition to Julianna Peña.
The Penningtons won't be the primary married couple to struggle on the identical UFC card. In 2020, Montana and Mark De La Rosa celebrated Valentine's Day weekend by each competing contained in the Octagon. Later that yr, JP Buys and Cheyanne Vlismas, who had been married on the time, additionally shared a UFC card.
3. One small step for Kayla, one large leap for girls's bantamweight?
Harrison's UFC debut in April might need appeared an unqualified success, but I'll quibble with it. Sure, she thrashed a former champion, however Holly Holm is 42 years outdated and has only one win since 2020. Had Harrison pulled off that second-round submission in opposition to a prime-of-career Holm, I'd have been wildly impressed. Instead, as an instance I'm mildly impressed and think about Harrison as a promising work in progress.
At age 34, Harrison should progress swiftly to fulfill that promise. And that is what she is ready up to do at UFC 307, showcased on the identical card because the Pennington-Peña title bout. Harrison's opponent, Ketlen Vieira, isn't any pushover, however predominantly depends on grappling, and the Brazilian's judo black belt pales compared to Harrison's two Olympic gold medals in that self-discipline.
Women's bantamweight lacks the star energy as soon as illuminated by Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey. Harrison could possibly be on her manner to restoring the luster.
4. This struggle card could possibly be sponsored by AARP
At age 37, Pereira is the eldest of the UFC's 11 reigning champions. At UFC 307, although, he might be solely the seventh oldest fighter.
Pereira is amongst greater than a dozen opponents in Saturday's lineup who're 35 or older. Three have reached their fortieth birthdays: Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Ovince Saint Preux, each 41, and 40-year-old Tim Means.
According to ESPN Research, the best common age on a UFC struggle card was 33.879315068 years at April's UFC 300, headlined by Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill. That document will fall this weekend. I did not go into decimals in my calculation, however the common age among the many 24 fighters scheduled to compete at UFC 307 is 34.4. Call this occasion one for the ages.
5. And then there's the ageless one
Within months of José Aldo's retirement from MMA two years in the past, the UFC introduced that the two-time featherweight champion could be a 2023 inductee into its Hall of Fame. No shock there. Aldo owns the 145-pound division's document for title defenses, with seven within the UFC and two extra in its sister promotion, the WEC — earlier than the UFC had his weight class. That run of success got here throughout a decade-long 18-fight profitable streak. “The King of Rio” was an apparent honoree.
However, Aldo wasn't completed as a fighter. He had at all times dreamed of boxing, so final yr, he stepped within the ring for 3 matches, two of them as knowledgeable. He went undefeated. And then this previous May — shock, shock — Aldo transitioned again into the Octagon, beating Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. Was this a hometown swan music? Nope.
Aldo, 38, fights Mario Bautista on Saturday, and there isn't any exit door in sight. As he informed CBS Sports earlier than the Martinez struggle, “I needed my time off and I had my time off. I'm recovered, and now I'm back in.”
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