Alex Pereira looks to continue his speed run to UFC legend status on Saturday when he puts his light heavyweight championship on the line against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of UFC 307. The fight is a clash of powerful strikers with a combined 18 knockouts in 24 victories.
After winning the middleweight title in just his fourth UFC fight, Pereira dropped the belt back to Israel Adesanya. After the loss, Pereira moved up to light heavyweight where he has rattled off four wins, three by knockout, all over former world champions, and won the title.
Rountree enters Saturday riding a five-fight winning streak with four knockout victories. He’s the No. 8 ranked light heavyweight but is looking to take advantage of the opportunity he received when the UFC needed an available contender to get Pereira in the Octagon one more time in 2024.
The co-main event is also a title fight as Raquel Pennington will put the women’s bantamweight title on the line against former champion Julianna Pena. Pennington capped off a six-fight winning streak by defeating Mayra Bueno Silva to win the vacant title in her most recent outing. Pena is looking to rebound from her title-losing performance against the now-retired Amanda Nunes in her most recent fight.
With so much happening on Saturday night, let’s take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds before we get to our staff predictions and picks for the PPV portion of the festivities.
UFC 307 fight card, odds
Alex Pereira (c) -500 vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. +375, light heavyweight title
Raquel Pennington (c) -170 vs. Julianna Pena +145, women’s bantamweight title
Mario Bautista -135 vs. Jose Aldo +115, bantamweights
Kevin Holland -170 vs. Roman Dolidze +145, middleweights
Kayla Harrison -900 vs. Ketlen Vieira +600, women’s bantamweights
Joaquin Buckley -210 vs. Stephen Thompson +175, welterweights
Iasmin Lucindo -190 vs. Marina Rodriguez +160, women’s strawweights
Cesar Almeida -400 vs. Ihor Potieira +310, middleweights
Ryan Spann -340 vs. Ovince Saint Preux +265, light heavyweights
Tecia Pennington -170 vs. Carla Esparza +145, women’s strawweights
Tim Means -200 vs. Court McGee +170, welterweights
With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card. Here are your pick makers: Brent Brookhouse (Combat sports writer), Brian Campbell (Combat sports writer), Shakiel Mahjouri (writer), Michael Mormile (producer) and Brandon Wise (senior editor).
UFC 307 picks, predictions
Campbell Brookhouse Mahjouri Mormile Wise Pereira (c) vs. Rountree Jr. Pereira Pereira Pereira Pereira Pereira Pennington (c) vs. Pena Pennington Pennington Penningtonn Pena Pennington Aldo vs. Bautista Bautista Aldo Aldo Aldo Aldo Holland vs. Dolidze Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Harrison vs. Vieira Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison Harrison
Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.
Campbell: For as much as Rountree’s action style and puncher’s chance makes this a potentially exciting fight for Pereira, this is anything but a fight on even terms. Pereira has only been a UFC fighter for three years yet his elite experience dwarfs that of Rountree, particularly on the championship level. Rountree is a 12-year veteran of the Octagon but holds a 9-5 record overall. He isn’t a threat on the ground and isn’t the dynamic and creative striker that Pereira has proven to be. Look for Pereira to close in on his target and deliver a knockout finish within the first two rounds.
Brookhouse: Rountree has the ability to win this fight because he hits hard and is aggressive enough to give himself the opportunity to land. The problem is, Pereira is such a good striker that it offsets Rountree’s best attributes. Also, nobody believes Rountree is the best challenger in the division, he’s just the guy who was available if the UFC wanted to get Pereira in the cage again before the end of the year. Rountree is a live dog because of the classic
UFC 307 predictions — Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.: Fight card, odds, preview, expert picks, prelims
