Alex Pereira fights Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 – live

Hernandez rocks Hubbard with a stiff overhand late in the first. Immense showcase of skills to start things off here, looking light on his feet and firing off shots. Hubbard looking to take it to the ground but to no avail.

Takedowns really aren’t working for Hubbard – he’s nought for nine. All credit to Hernandez, whose takedown defence has been impeccable. However, Hubbard is up on significant strikes in the second. Hernandez has kept up to speed for the most part but may be tiring as we go to a third.

An icon of the sport, Aldo’s more recent memories of fighting in Salt Lake City aren’t the best, having experienced just how impactful altitude can be in his UFC 278 bout against cardio king Merab Dvalashvili.

A win tonight against Bautista would be a major statement at bantamweight, showing that the former champ is not simply back in the UFC for a nostalgic farewell tour.

Potieria is not a happy man as he appears to get poked in the eye again. Almeida is warned to close his fist, but still no point taken away. The Brazlian then lands a beautiful straight right hand before connecting with a hook.

Commentary losing their minds with the referee, who having missed four eyepokes is now seperating clinches after about three seconds. Potieria looks exhausted and ends up on his bag as the buzzer sounds. We go to the scorecards…

Cesar Almeida def. Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

A fight that will unfortunately be overshadowed by the performance of referee Dave Seljestad.

Very relaxed round from the outset from Almeida. Potieria lands a heavy left but the Brazilian counters well. Almeida then follows up with another strong shot and enjoys success with the low kicks. Incredibly potent and efficient striking performance so far from Almeida.

Stuttered start to the round as Potieria gets poked in the eye THREE times in the space of 90 seconds. No word of warning from the ref and as action begins to flow, Potieria lands a takedown. However, it’s Almeida who does the damage on the ground, raining shots down while also nearly locking in a choke. Potieria survives and gets to a third round.

Here’s a rundown of all the action from tonight’s early prelims in Salt Lake City.

To start the night off, home crowd favourite Court McGee pulled off an impressive submssion victory over Tim Means, getting the RNC in early and forcing a tap.

Two-time strawweight champion Carla Esparza was then just edged out of a retirement victory on her way out of MMA, losing on the scorecards to Tecia Pennington – wife of women’s bantamweight champion Raquel, who is of course in co-main event action later tonight.

And in the featured early prelim, it was another quick submission as Ryan Spann locked in the guillotine after landing a massive right hand on Ovince Saint Preux.

Ryan Spann def. Ovince Saint Preux via first round submission (guillotine, 1:35)

Tecia Pennington def. Carla Esparza via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Court McGee def. Tim Means via first round submission (rear naked choke, 3:19)

Who will come out on top tonight?

Pereira to win – 1/5; Rountree to win – 7/2

Pennington to won – 4/7; Pena to win – 7/5

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The UFC is back in Salt Lake City tonight, a location that has become a bit of a regular on the PPV calendar. It’s where Leon Edwards headkicked Kamaru Usman into oblivion to win the welterweight title back in 2022, lest we forget.

However, fightcards in Utah pose a challenge unlike any other in the US: altitude.

Jose Aldo, who is in action tonight against Mario Bautista, learnt first hand how impactful altitude can be when he fought cardio king Merab Dvalishvili on that same card as Edwards vs Usman 2 – as did many fighters, especially heavyweights, who just found themselves gassing in the first few minutes.

If fighters haven’t factored in altitude properly and acclimatised to the conditions early prior to the event, then UFC 307 could throw up some very surprising results.

Do not write off an upset…

Brazil’s Alex Pereira returns to the octagon for the third time in 2024 having enjoyed a swift rise to the top of the UFC.

He’s won titles at middleweight and light-heavyweight since joining the promotion in November 2021 and is now looking to make history as he defends his belt for a third time.

Ronda Rousey holds the current UFC record for the shortest period between three consecutive title defences, achieving that feat in 189 days, while Pereira – if successful – will have done it just 175 days.

“I’m one of the best, the numbers don’t lie,” he said, “Fans want to see fights and I deliver fights.”