Every time the UFC ventures to Salt Lake City, the action inside the Octagon always delivers and Saturday’s UFC 307 prelims were no different.
From an outstanding effort from the lone Utah native on the card, TUF 11 winner Court McGee to Joaquin Buckley’s third-round knockout of Stephen Thompson that wrapped up the elite slate and everything in between, this weekend’s preliminary card delivered as promised, setting the table for a loaded pay-per-view featuring a pair of massive championship fights.
Here’s a look at how things played out over the first seven fights. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
It had been more than 13 years since Court McGee earned a finish in the UFC until Saturday, where the Utah native kicked off the card by submitting Tim Means.
“The Crusher” looked as good as ever in the opener, taking the fight to Means right out of the chute, getting loose with his hands before taking the New Mexico native to the canvas. He patiently worked around to the back, clamped onto the neck, and squeezed out the choke, marking his first finish since UFC 121 on October 23, 2010.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 winner snapped a three-fight slide with the win, picking up his first victory since January 2022 and his second UFC win in as many starts in his home state.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
A decade after joining the UFC roster together following their time on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, Tecia Pennington and Carla Esparza shared the Octagon for a second time in the second bout at UFC 307 and turned in an outstanding fight.
Pennington came out of the gate sharp, flashing her speed and varied offensive attack, hurting the two-time champ. But whenever Esparza was able to drag the fight to the canvas, she was able to control Pennington and do solid work from top position, with the two battling right through to the final horn.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
The judges were called upon to determine the victor, and when the scores were totalled, it was Pennington that came away with the unanimous decision win. This was a great bounce-back win for Pennington, who dropped a close fight in her return last time out, and an outstanding effort from the departing two-time champ Esparza, who should be headed to the Hall of Fame in the not too distant future.
Ryan Spann flashed his elite skills on Saturday, hurting Ovince Saint Preux with a crisp right hand before clamping onto a high-elbow guillotine choke that drew out the tap, wrapping up the win in under two minutes.
The light heavyweights came out looking for openings, picking their spots and throwing big singles that could instantly change the course of the fight. Each landed a good shot early, but then Spann followed up with a right that spun Saint Preux around, and when the veteran looked to change levels, Spann wrapped up the choke.
The Fortis MMA representative has been hit-and-miss throughout his UFC career, but when he’s on — as he was tonight — he looks like a contender-in-waiting. If he can make good on his post-fight promise to be more consistent and focus more on his training, he could be a dark horse to watch in the 205-pound weight class.
Cesar Almeida showcased some new wrinkles to his game in his win over Ihor Potieria, demonstrating his continued evolution as a combat sports athlete, though it wasn’t without some flaws as well.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
The Brazilian kickboxer had success on the feet in the opening round, but was forced to deal with Potieria closing the distance and trying to wear on him. In the second, Almeida attacked a deep guillotine choke when “The Duelist” looked to change levels, eventually landing quality blows from mount and back mount to close out the round before scoring with solid counters in many of the third-round exchanges.
Unfortunately for Almeida, the effort was marred by a series of fouls, including multiple eye pokes and borderline low blows, none of which were penalized by the referee. It’s a solid win for “Cesinha,” but one that will carry some caveats going forward.
Lightweights Alexander Hernandez and Austin Hubbard engaged in a competitive back-and-forth that felt representative of the depth and skill present in the 155-pound ranks, going the full 15 minutes at a strong clip where both men had moments of quality success.
Hernandez was the quicker, more athletic of the two to start, flashing the skills that had many wondering if he’d be a Top 15 fixture early in his UFC tenure. Hubbard began clawing back in the second and had his best success in the third as “The Great Ape” began to slow down thanks to the pace, altitude, and constant pressuring attacks coming his way.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
When the scores were collected and totalled, it was Hernandez that came out on the favorable side of the split decision verdict. The 32-year-old snapped a two-fight skid with the win, and has now won each of his last two lightweight assignments.
The all-Brazilian clash between Iasmin Lucindo and Marina Rodriguez turned out to be a changing of the guard in the strawweight division, as Lucindo leaned on her grappling advantage to turn back the tenured veteran Rodriguez.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards | Order PPV
For the most part, this played out as a clash of styles, with Rodriguez having more success on the feet and showing her experience in the striking exchanges, while Lucindo repeatedly turned clinch opportunities into takedowns, neutralizing her opponent’s weapons while landing short blows of her own. Lucindo worked her way to mount early in the third, but the position for pressing her chin into the eye socket of Rodriguez, with the duo running level for the remainder of the round.
When the tens and nines were added up, it was Lucindo that emerged on the happy side of the split decision verdict, picking up the biggest win of her young career and fourth straight UFC victory in the process. The youngest female fighter on the roster and fourth youngest overall, the 22-year-old Lucindo could very well find herself in the Top 10 when the rankings update next week.
Just when it felt like we were headed to the scorecards, Joaquin Buckley closed out the prelims with a massive, third-round knockout win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson to continue his unbeaten march forward in the welterweight division.
Through the first two rounds, Buckley and Thompson teamed up for a technical, competitive back-and-forth, with the former searching for big shots and mixing in takedowns while the latter deftly deployed his signature counter-striking to good effect. But early in the third, Buckley exploded forward with a lunging right hand landed flush, sending Thompson crumpling to the canvas.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
After having moderate success at middleweight, “New Mansa” has been perfect since moving to the 170-pounds, posting five straight victories. He’s got stoppages over Thompson and Vicente Luque with a decision nod over Nursulton Ruziboev sandwiched in between, and looks like another new contender to consider going forward.
Don’t miss a moment of UFC 307: Pereira vs Rountree Jr., live from Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 5, 2024. Prelims start at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT, while the main card kicks off live on PPV at 10pm ET/7pm PT.
See The Fight Results, Watch Post-Fight Interviews With The Main Card Winners And More From UFC 307: Pereira vs Rount
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