On social media, UFC president Dana White announced that light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will return to the octagon to fight No. 8 ranked contender Khalil Rountree Jr. White also announced that Women’s Bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington will defend her title against former champion, No. 1 ranked Julianna Pena. This event will take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
White announced five more fights and it is shaping up to be quite an exciting card in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here is how it looks so far.
Women’s Bantamweight:
No. 2 Ketlen Vieira vs. No. 3 Kayla Harrison
Featherweight:
No. 6 Movsar Evloev vs. No. 8 Aljamain Sterling
Bantamweight:
No. 9 Jose Aldo vs. No. 12 Mario Bautista
Middleweight:
No. 10 MW Roman Dolidize vs. No. 15 WW Kevin Holland
Welterweight:
No. 9 Stephen Thompson vs. No. 11 Joaquin Buckley
Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira last fought on June 29th at UFC 303 on International Fight Week, where he knocked out former champion Jiri Prochazka in the second round. Pereira is continuing to stay active as he will have less than four months between fights. Pereria will look to pick up his fifth overall UFC title win, and third defense at light heavyweight. Currently, Pereira is second to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. If he has another incredible performance against Rountree, he will likely move into the No. 1 position.
Rountree is an exciting rising prospect in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He is on a five-fight win streak while having four knockouts. He most recently finished former title challenger Anthony Smith in the third round during a fight night in December 2023. Rountree hasn’t fought in over eight months but had a fight canceled against Jamahal Hill on International Fight Week. Rountree was forced to withdraw from that fight due to testing positive for a banned substance.
Vieira and Harrison will meet in a title eliminator with the winner likely earning the next title shot vs. the winner of the co-main event: Pennington vs. Pena. Pennington defeated Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in January to become the Women’s Bantamweight champion but hasn’t defended her title yet.
If you’re interested in placing any bets on this event, you can go to DraftKings Sportsbook to get in on the action. Pereira’s line opened at -535 while Rountree Jr. holds +400 odds to upset the UFC’s most active champion.
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