Opening odds for Pereira vs. Rountree

There is one main event at UFC 307, and it's quite a surprise. This fight pits UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira against Khalil Rountree Jr. We look at the opening betting odds for Pereira's third attempt to defend the UFC title in the 205-pound limit and Rountree's first attempt to become UFC titleholder.

UFC 307 takes place on October 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Pereira (11-2) won the UFC light heavyweight title in his second fight in the 205-pound division under the UFC banner. The promotion's former middleweight champion, Pereira moved up to 205 pounds after losing the 185-pound belt to the man he acquired it from, Israel Adesanya. The loss to Adesanya came in November 2022. In July 2023, Pereira made his UFC debut at light heavyweight.

Pereira faced former UFC champion Jan Blachowicz in that fight and won the fight by split decision. In November 2023, he fought for the vacant light heavyweight belt and knocked out former champion Jiri Prochazka in the second round.

Pereira's first title defense came in April 2024, when he knocked out another former UFC champion, Jamahal Hill, in the first round. His last title defense was a rematch against Prochazka. That fight also ended in a second-round knockout.

Rountree (13-5-0-1) is the No. 8 fighter in the UFC's official light heavyweight rankings. He enters UFC 307 after defeating former title challenger Anthony Smith by TKO in December 2023. Rountree has won five straight fights, four by knockout and one by decision.

One reason Rountree is a surprise opponent for Pereira is his ranking. Another reason it was surprising to see him in a title fight is that he was just suspended for a drug test. Rountree was scheduled to face Hill in June, but he admitted to taking a banned substance, which led to him being ruled out of that fight and later suspended for two months by Combat Sports Anti-Doping, which oversees the UFC's drug testing program.

According to BetOnline, Pereira started as a -450 favorite ahead of Rountree, who entered the race as a +350 underdog.

Pereira started as a -135 favorite in his rematch against Prochazka, -163 against Hill, +105 in his first fight against Prochazka and +128 against Blachowicz.

The co-main event of UFC 307 is a women's bantamweight title fight between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena. Pennington won the vacant title in January 2024. Pena is a former UFC women's middleweight champion (135 lbs.) who defeated Amanda Nunes for the title in December 2021, but lost the belt to Nunes in a rematch in July 2022. Nunes retired after regaining the belt, leaving the title vacant.

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