UFC 307 fight card – Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.: The five biggest storylines to watch in Salt Lake City

MMA's biggest star in recent years returns on Saturday when Alex Pereira attempts to defend his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. for the third time UFC 307.

The pay-per-view event, which emanates from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, is considered anything but a loaded card. But with two title fights at the top and the return of Brazilian legend Jose Aldo, there is no shortage of storylines to consider.

Let's take a closer look at what to look out for as this weekend's fights get closer.

1. When in doubt, the UFC continues to use “Poatan.”

How valuable is Alex Pereira to the UFC promotional machine right now? Well, the Brazilian slugger and two-division UFC champion saved the company last November when Jon Jones-Stipe Miocic collapsed and a new main event was needed at New York's Madison Square Garden. Pereira did the same in April when he was asked to fill a gap on the marquee at UFC 300 in Las Vegas. Oh yeah, and then there was that time, just two months later, when Conor McGregor pulled out of a long-awaited rematch with a broken toe at UFC 303 and International Fight Week in June, only for Pereira to nurse his own broken toe . to intervene again. So who is the UFC calling for an interim PPV card in Salt Lake City? It's Pereira. But considering that UFC could have easily named the far more deserving Magomed Ankalaev (an incredibly tough stylistic challenge) for Pereira's next fight, they still chose the No. 8-ranked Rountree, who had been facing “Poatan” all night. will stand, that could be the reward for Pereira's loyalty to the company. Pereira is the 5-1 betting favorite against Rountree after never being more than -155 favorite in seven straight UFC fights. The biggest unknown could come in the form of a post-fight announcement should Pereira win, as he continues to publicly push for a return to middleweight to face champion Dricus du Plessis.

2. Rountree's recent turnaround was impressive, but still deceptive

As surprising as it was that Rountree was announced as Pereira's next title challenger at 205 pounds, the 34-year-old “War Horse” is at least on a five-fight winning streak, including four by devastating knockout. And the winning streak came on the heels of a stretch in which Rountree suffered three of four defeats. Rountree also has a great personal story about how he overcame so much along the way to get to where he is now, on the verge of a potentially life-changing opportunity. So why was there so much debate about Rountree cutting the border? A lot of this depends on who he has defeated (and more importantly, not) to get to this point. Rountree has only fought one name currently ranked in the UFC light heavyweight top 10, losing by first-round knockout (to Johnny Walker in 2018). Additionally, during his current winning streak, he has only defeated one fighter ranked in the top 10, Anthony Smith, who was ranked No. 8 at the time and has currently lost five of his last seven. His previous three wins also came against opponents who were going through extremely difficult times: Chris Daukas (beaten by UFC after losing to Rountree in 2023, currently with five fights lost), Dustin Jacoby (has lost four of his last five) and Karl Robertson (who was cut from the UFC in 2022 and is currently losing five fights). Modestas Bukauskas, who Rountree stopped to start his winning streak, was also cut from UFC immediately after the fight following his third straight loss.

3. Kayla Harrison can't advance into the women's bantamweight title fight fast enough

After Harrison's long-awaited UFC debut in April, where she dominated and submitted former champion Holly Holm, most expected the two-time Olympian and former PFL star to have an immediate shot at the title. The 34-year-old Harrison, who dropped to 135 pounds for the first time at UFC 300, may only have a certain amount of extreme weight cuts ahead of her and the lack of depth at bantamweight couldn't be more glaring following the retirement of Amanda Nunes. Instead, Harrison will step in as a backup for Saturday's co-main event and have another fight of his own on the PPV main card against Ketlen Viera, in which Harrison is the -900 betting favorite. So what are we actually doing here? Great question! Harrison will have to wait for former champion Julianna Pena to snatch the title from Raquel Pennington, even though Pena hasn't fought in two years since she was well outmatched (with scores of 50-45, 50-44 and 50-43). . her title rematch with Nunes. Pena is also only 3-3 since 2017. Pennington's victory in January over Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant title was less than inspiring due to poor performances from both, but Harrison will still be forced to clear one more hurdle before potentially facing UFC gold.

4. Jose Aldo continues to shine with his incredible longevity at the top of the sport

After losing his first two fights at 135 pounds, including a one-sided title loss to Petr Yan in 2020, most felt this was likely the end for Aldo's two-division title hopes after a legendary run as featherweight king. Instead, the living Brazilian legend has quietly enjoyed an impressive run in the top flight of all time, winning four of his last five. The 38-year-old ageless marvel returns as a slight underdog against the red-hot Mario Bautista, who has quietly won six fights in a row and eight of his last nine dating back to 2019. While there is a big argument to be made that Aldo, given his age and famous name, should he be looking for fun and celebratory fights against other legends at this point, it would be hard to hand him another title shot with a win over Bautista refuse. And despite suffering his only loss since 2020 two years ago against current champion Merab Dvalishvili, Aldo stubbornly stuffed all 16 of the grappling expert's takedown attempts and lost a close decision. “The King of Rio” is already going against the grain for making weight so late in his career, but as the UFC's No. 10 bantamweight, he's one to watch given his experience and the dedication to which he continues to dedicate himself. Don't forget to take part in fights in world-class form.

5. Two-time world champion Carla Esparza bows out with a retirement fight

At 36 and fresh from the birth of a son, “Cookie Monster” has decided to end her career on her own terms, taking on strawweight veteran Tecia Pennington for the last time in the Octagon on Saturday. The fight represents the end of an era in some ways, as both fighters were part of the premier class of 115-pound fighters that made their debut on “The Ultimate Fighter” a decade ago. Esparza became the first UFC strawweight champion by defeating Rose Namajunas in the show's finale. She later secured an unlikely second title reign two years ago by defeating Namajunas a second time (by split decision in a bizarre and unforgettable affair). It's also a rematch of sorts, considering Esparza won a majority decision over Pennington (formerly known as Tecia Torres) during the TUF season.