UFC 307 Storylines: Alex Pereira headlines the oldest PPV card of all time

When Alex Pereira defends his UFC light heavyweight title for the third time on Saturday, it will have been just 99 days since he made his second title defense in late June. Pereira, who faces Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of UFC 307 (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET), is not one to sit idle. He defended the belt for the first time in April, just 77 days before his second.

To put Pereira’s rapid championship activity into perspective, consider that of the other three UFC champions currently booked to fight, none will be entering the cage having competed in the last 250 days. When Jon Jones puts his heavyweight title on the line in November, it will have been 580 days since his last fight.

However, Pereira is not a record holder, not even close. In 2020, Deiveson Figueiredo defended the men’s flyweight title twice in 21 days. And Pereira is miles away from another 125-pound record holder. The recently retired Demetrious Johnson challenged for the championship 11 times during his nearly six-year tenure. Even if Pereira can maintain his current pace and prominence, it would take him over two years to catch up.

You can’t blame him, but Pereira isn’t necessarily after “Mighty Mouse” and his impressive run, as opposed to simply beating another opponent. He has talked about returning to middleweight, where he was once world champion, to challenge Dricus Du Plessis for his old belt. He has also talked about jumping the line of heavyweights lined up in front of Jones and going for the two unprecedented achievements of beating the GOAT and securing a title in a third weight class.

No matter which direction Pereira turns, a place in the history book awaits him on the horizon.

But Rountree can erase Pereira’s championship chapter in the works this weekend with the press of a button. The challenger is a sizable underdog (+385 on ESPN BET), but he packs an outsized punch. Rountree has won five fights in a row, four of them by knockout. He has scored seven knockouts and 13 knockdowns in his UFC career, both more than any other active light heavyweight. And he has vowed to stand by Pereira, one of the sport’s most fearsome punchers, and trade places with him.

The main event storyline promises a wild outcome, but it’s not the only intriguing storyline on the dual title fight card Saturday in Salt Lake City. Here are five things to watch out for.

1. Someone’s “0” does not must go

Rountree has been in the UFC for eight years, competing in 15 contests and amassing just under two hours of fight time. But in all of his big moments in the Octagon, Rountree hasn’t completed takedowns – because he hasn’t even attempted one.

Given Pereira’s kickboxing pedigree and incredible power – and the champion’s far less developed grappling game – it would be wise to bring him to the big screen, wouldn’t it? Roundtree isn’t interested.

“I have no intention of shooting takedowns or trying to take what people would think is the easy route. Honestly, I want to have a memorable fight,” Rountree said on a recent episode of Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “This is a fight I will remember for the rest of my life…so I want to give the fans the same thing. I want this to be one of those fights that people talk about for years to come.”

That promise could quiet the murmurs about why the UFC would give a 205-pounder who isn’t even ranked in the top five a shot at the title. If Rountree, No. 7 in the ESPN rankings, keeps his word, Saturday night’s headliner should be a crowd favorite.

2. The family that fights together…

Alayah Rose Pennington will be 16 months old on fight night – a bit young to be buying pay-per-views. But if she had access to a television and no cartoons were playing, she would have multiple interests in rooting UFC 307. Both of their mothers will fight.

Tecia Pennington, competing for the second time since giving birth to her child in June 2023, will take on two-time former strawweight champion Carla Esparza in an early preliminary bout. And that’s just a taste of what the family dinner will serve later in the co-main event when Raquel Pennington defends her bantamweight title against Julianna Peña.

The Penningtons won’t be the first married couple to fight on the same UFC card. In 2020, Montana and Mark De La Rosa celebrated Valentine’s Day weekend by both competing in the Octagon. Later that year, JP Buys and Cheyanne Vlismas, who were married at the time, also shared a UFC card.

3. One small step for Kayla, one giant leap for the women’s bantamweight division?

Harrison’s UFC debut in April seemed to be a huge success, but I’ll argue about that. Sure, she beat a former champion, but Holly Holm is 42 years old and has only one win since 2020. If Harrison had done the job in the second round against a spar in the prime of his career, I would have been incredibly impressed. Instead, let’s say I’m mildly impressed and see Harrison as a promising project in the works.

At age 34, Harrison must make rapid progress to fulfill that promise. And that’s exactly what she’s prepared to do at UFC 307, which is on the same card as the title fight between Pennington and Peña. Harrison’s opponent, Ketlen Vieira, is no pushover, relying primarily on grappling, and the Brazilian’s judo black belt pales in comparison to Harrison’s two Olympic gold medals in the discipline.

The women’s bantamweight division lacks the star power once lit by Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey. Harrison could be on his way to restoring the shine.

4. This fight card may be sponsored by AARP

At 37, Pereira is the oldest of the eleven reigning UFC champions. However, he will only be the seventh oldest fighter at UFC 307.

Pereira is among more than a dozen competitors on Saturday’s roster who are 35 or older. Three have reached their 40th birthday: Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Ovince Saint Preux, both 41, and 40-year-old Tim Means.

According to ESPN Research, the highest average age on a UFC fight card was 33.879315068 at UFC 300 in April, led by Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill. That record will fall this weekend. I didn’t include decimals in my calculation, but the average age of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at UFC 307 is 34.4 years old. Call this event one for them Old.

5. And then there is the timeless one

Just months after José Aldo’s retirement from MMA two years ago, the UFC announced that the two-time featherweight world champion would be inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2023. No surprise. Aldo holds the record for title defenses in the 145-pound division, with seven in the UFC and two more in its sister promotion, the WEC – before the UFC had its own weight class. This success came during a decade-long, 18-fight winning streak. “The King of Rio” was obviously an award winner.

However, Aldo wasn’t finished as a fighter yet. Having always dreamed of boxing, he got in the ring for three fights last year, two of them as a professional. He remained undefeated. And then last May – surprise, surprise – Aldo moved back into the Octagon and defeated Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. Was this a hometown swan song? No.

Aldo, 38, fights Mario Bautista on Saturday and there is no outcome in sight. As he told CBS Sports before the Martinez fight: “I needed my time off and I had my time off. I recovered and am back at it now.”