UFC 307: 5 Preliminary Fights to Watch

UFC 307 is set to go down at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday.

There will be two titles on the line. Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is set to try and defend his belt against Khalil Rountree Jr. Before that, bantamweight queen Raquel Pennington will look to keep her title against the challenging Julianna Pena, the former champion who once upset Amanda Nunes.

The rest of the main card is rounded out by former featherweight champion Jose Aldo taking on Mario Bautista at bantamweight, Kayla Harrison fighting Ketlen Vieira in a potential bantamweight title eliminator, and Roman Dolidze squaring off with Kevin Holland at middleweight.

The UFC 307 undercard features a former champion, former title challengers, and other longtime contenders. Here are five fights to watch on the UFC 307 preliminary card:

Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley

Former welterweight title challenger and karate sensation “Wonderboy” Thompson headlines the UFC 307 preliminary card against Buckley, an upstart contender who has won his last four fights.

Buckley’s win streak features victories over Nursulton Ruziboev, Vicente Luque, Alex Morono and Andre Fialho. Thompson is undoubtedly his biggest-name opponent yet.

Thompson, at 41, has shown he still has it, even if his championship-hopeful days are likely behind him. “Wonderboy” has proven he can still turn away younger fighters, as he did when he TKO’d Kevin Holland two years ago. Thompson has fought a who’s who at welterweight and has seen it all. He suffered the first submission loss of his career to Shavkat Rakhmonov, who could very well fight for the title next. One submission loss late in the career of a karate specialist is nothing to sneeze at.

The fight will be interesting if Buckley opts to keep it standing and test his striking, as Holland tried to. His path of least resistance would be trying to ground Thompson. This will be a fun fight, especially if Buckley looks to test himself on the feet. But who could blame him if he doesn’t?

Thompson is ranked No. 9 at 170 pounds, while Buckley is ranked No. 11, so the fight is vital as far as welterweight standing goes.

Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo

Rodriguez and Lucino will square off in a battle of ranked Brazilian strawweights. Rodriguez enters the bout at No. 6, while Lucindo is No. 14. The pressure is on Rodriguez, as she has a lot to lose if she falls to a lower-ranked fighter, while Lucindo has everything to gain – a top-10 spot would be all but secured with a win.

Lucindo has won her last three after dropping her debut, defeating Brogan Walker, Polyana Viana and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. While Kowalkiewicz is a former title challenger, Rodriguez would be the biggest win of her career.

Rodriguez is coming off a split decision loss to former strawweight champion and former flyweight title challenger Jessica Andrade. No shame in that. However, she’s lost three of her last four and needs to defeat Lucindo to stay in the contender conversation.

Both women will enter motivated for different reasons, and fans should get a high-quality scrap.

Alexander Hernandez vs. Austin Hubbard

Hernandez is moving back to lightweight for this throwdown with Hubbard. The fight should be fun from pillar to post, as both Hernandez and Hubbard boast a fast-paced offensive attack, so plenty of action is all but guaranteed.

Hernandez is looking to reverse his fortunes after losing four of five, with the one win over Jim Miller. Hernandez burst onto the scene with a 42-second KO win over Beneil Dariush and a decision against Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who has went on to have champion success in the Professional Fighters League. While the results have been up and down since, Hernandez is always exciting.

Hubbard is allergic to boring fights, as well. He’s back in the UFC after a stint in the regional circuit and The Ultimate Fighter, and defeated Michal Figlak in his last bout. This contest is a battle of action fighters looking to take the next step in their careers.

Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington

Esparza, a two-time strawweight champion, including the division’s inaugural titleholder, announced she plans to retire after her UFC 307 bout with Pennington.

Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas twice – first time for the vacant title to kickstart the 115-pound division and then again as a title challenger – in championship bouts. She has gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Zhang Weili, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Alexa Grasso, Claudia Gadelha, Tatiana Suarez, Virna Jandiroba and Michelle Waterson-Gomez – a litany of former champions, challengers and contenders.

Esparza defeated Pennington in an exhibition bout on The Ultimate Fighter Season 20, where the women were vying to be the first strawweight queen. Still, the two will not have not met for an on-the-books professional bout until Saturday.

Pennington has fought several champions herself – the same ones as Esparza, with the edition of Jessica Andrade.

The two women are pioneers of the strawweight division with storied ledgers. It’s the perfect retirement fight for Esparza.

Ovince St. Preux vs. Ryan Spann

St. Preux, a former title challenger who fought Jon Jones for the vacant light heavyweight title, has won two of his last three in a bit of a late-career resurgence. He still finds himself a moderate underdog against Spann, who aims to snap a three-fight skid.

Both are experienced veterans at this point, though St. Preux will have to rely on the guile that got him recent wins over Kennedy Nzechukwu and Maurico “Shogun” Rua. Spann, at 33, still packs more of a punch between the two – he knocked former title challenger Dominick Reyes out with a power jab almost two years ago; his most recent win.

Both men can get it done on the feet or on the ground, while St. Preux is more comfortable winning after going the distance. This light heavyweight clash can play out in a lot of ways.

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