Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira stole away the headlines surrounding UFC 307. After a night of lackluster matchups, the king of the 205 lb. division put on a Fight of the Year contender against Khalil Rountree in his third straight title defense. Pereira saved the main card from mediocrity, bringing in tons of eyes to himself and his fellow main card winners. The next steps for each victor on the main card will have major ramifications for two title pictures and the men's middleweight and bantamweight divisions.
(C) Alex Pereira: Winner of (2) Magomed Ankalaev vs. (5) Aleksander Rakic
The matchmakers won't have to think too hard for this one. Ankalaev already owns a record that is worthy of a title shot, but his unwillingness to work with the UFC brass put him in a position where he needs to add another victory to his tab. Beating Rakic would show that he probably deserved the shot over Rountree and cement him as Pereira's next challenger. On the other hand, an upset from Rakic would immediately launch him into a title fight despite his lack of a strong record. Pereira has essentially cleaned out the division of viable contenders, so this is a true title-eliminator matchup in Abu Dhabi.
(C) Julianna Pena: (2) Kayla Harrison
This is another instance of a clear next matchup. Pena can call out Amanda Nunes all she wants, but the fact of the matter is that she's unlikely to lure her out of retirement and would likely be beaten wall to wall if Nunes did decide to don the gloves again. Harrison earned her shot with her win over Ketlen Vieira earlier on the card. Raquel Pennington would have an argument for an immediate rematch if Harrison wasn't such a compelling challenger, but with the way things stand, Harrison deserves the next opportunity, ideally at the start of 2025.
(9) Mario Bautista: (15) Montel Jackson
Bautista might have gotten the win, but he certainly didn't earn any fans through his win over Jose Aldo. The accomplished kickboxer decided to push Aldo to the cage and waste the rounds away there in a performance reminiscent of Aldo's matchup with Merab Dvalishvili. Despite that, I had Aldo winning on the scorecards, as did the majority of fans who scored it online. It's hard to justify a step up after such a poor performance, so another young, hungry bantamweight seems like an adequate challenge. Jackson is on a five-fight win streak of his own, a fact that makes him long overdue for a big fight. Match these two up and see if Bautista can put on a truly good performance against one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC. If he can't Jackson shoots into the top ten and becomes a bona fide contender.
(9) Roman Dolidze: (8) Brendan Allen
Victory must've been bittersweet for Dolidze, as Kevin Holland was stopped on the stool because of a rib injury after the first round, robbing the Georgian of an opportunity to really build his stock. The UFC still owes him a couple of favors for his short-notice bookings against Anthony Smith and Holland, so it seems likely that Dolidze will get a shot against someone ranked above him. The fight with Allen has been booked previously and there is now ample reason to rebook it. Both guys are on similar fight schedules, and Allen needs a test to see if he really belongs in the top ten after going to war with Chris Curtis and losing to Nassourdine Imavov. Book it and
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