Image: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
For those who see Kayla Harrison as a future champ at bantamweight, all lights are green after UFC 307.
Despite that credible performance, Harrison falls from No. 2 to No. 3 in Sherdog’s women’s bantamweight rankings thanks to the title fight that took place about an hour later. In the co-main event of UFC 307, Julianna Pena edged out Raquel Pennington by split decision after five closely contested rounds. With the win, the talented but oft-injured “Venezuelan Vixen” became perhaps the unlikeliest two-time champion in UFC history, then used her post-fight mic time to renew her call for a rubber match with retired former champ Amanda Nunes. Whether her needling will be enough to lure the “Lioness” back into the cage, only time will tell, but for now she resumes the No. 1 spot in the rankings, with Pennington falling to No. 2 and Harrison coming in third.
The main event saw Alex Pereira retain his light heavyweight title and continue to build on one of the most remarkable late bloomer runs in the annals of mixed martial arts, as he withstood a spirited charge from Khalil Rountree to put the challenger away in Round 4 with a brutal salvo of hooks. The win left “Poatan” in firm possession of the 205-pound strap as well as the top spot in Sherdog’s divisional rankings. Meanwhile, Rountree silenced the doubters who questioned his worthiness by giving Pereira a tougher go than any of his other foes so far at light heavyweight, and holds steady at ninth in the poll.
In the top prelim bout of UFC 307, Joaquin Buckley completed his transition from highlight reel freakshow to legitimate welterweight contender, wrecking two-time former title challenger Stephen Thompson with a massive right hand in the third round. The win, Buckley’s fifth in a row, sees him enter the welterweight bubble at No. 15, while “Wonderboy,” who has lost four of his last five, exits the rankings entirely.
In other UFC 307 action, Roman Dolidze holds onto the No. 12 spot at middleweight after his injury-aided TKO win over Kevin Holland; Iasmin Lucindo jumps from 13th to seventh in the strawweight raknings with her narrow win over Marina Rodriguez, who drops to No. 8; and Mario Bautista enters the bantamweight rankings at No. 10 thanks to his seven-fight win streak, none bigger than his razor-close win Saturday over Jose Aldo, who falls to 11th.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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