UFC 307 is coming together nicely.
In addition to a probable main event featuring Raquel Pennington defending her UFC women’s bantamweight title against former champion Julianna Pena, the promotion has secured two more intriguing fights with big names attached.
MMA icon, former featherweight champion, and Brazilian legend Jose Aldo recently re-signed with the UFC, and he will fight Mario Bautista.
Aldo confirmed the fight on his social media accounts.
Aldo might be the greatest featherweight of all time, but his recent campaign at bantamweight has him on the cusp of becoming a title contender in a new weight class.
Aldo is currently ranked No. 8 and is coming off an impressive win over Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301. He was briefly a free agent before re-upping with the UFC, which should provide him with an opportunity to make a run at a title at 135 pounds. Bautista is a well-rounded and talented fighter.
He’s ranked no. 12 and has been on a tear. He’s won six straight fights and will be looking to shut down a legend to capture the biggest win of his professional career. A win almost certainly lands Bautista in the Top 10.
Also official for UFC 307 is a high-stakes clash at women’s bantamweight. Kayla Harrison will make her second appearance in the Octagon when she takes on Ketlen Viera in a No-1 contender’s match.
The winner almost certainly gets the winner of the Pennington-Pena clash. Harrison looks like she is destined to fight for UFC gold.
After competing her entire MMA career at 145 pounds and winning two gold medals in judo at a higher weight, Harrison’s biggest opponent may be the scale. She successfully made weight for her promotional debut at UFC 300 earlier this year, scoring a dominant submission win over former champion Holly Holm.
Harrison comes into the fight with Viera ranked No. 3, and the latter is No. 2. There couldn’t be a more appropriate fight to determine the next title challenger, and it is these kinds of matchups that help fans love the UFC’s matchmaking.
Viera has been close to a title shot for years, but it has eluded her. If she can pull what figures to be a massive upset over Harrison, she’ll get her shot at a title.
The entire card hasn’t been finalized, but this is the lineup of fights that have been confirmed so far.
- Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
- Chris Curtis vs. Kevin Holland
- José Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo
- Ihor Potieria vs. César Almeida
- Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington
If Pennington-Pena is added as expected, this is shaping up to be a worthy follow-up event to Noche UFC and a good transition event to UFC 308, which is expected to be headlined by Ilia Topuria defending his UFC featherweight title against Max Holloway.
Looks like the UFC will end the year with a bang.
