Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison both took care of business at UFC 307. But don’t assume that means their title fight is set in stone.

“The Venezuelan Vixen” recaptured the bantamweight title Saturday at UFC 307, with a close split-decision win over Raquel Pennington in the co-main event. Following her victory, Peña used her mic time to call for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes, not Harrison, the two-time Olympic champion and former PFL star who defeated Ketlen Vieira earlier in the evening.

The callout shouldn’t be all that surprising given that Peña was the only woman to defeat Nunes during the former two-division champion’s legendary run from 2015-2023, and even less so given how lightly Peña and her coaches regard Harrison.

“We’re not impressed,” Peña said of Harrison. “She said she was going to put an elbow through her skull and do all this damage. [Vieira] didn’t have a scratch on her, it was boring, and she didn’t do anything that jumped off the page like, ‘Oooh, The Boogeyman.’ You know what I mean? So I was definitely—especially with hearing from my team—not impressed.”

Peña admitted she was relying mostly on her coaches’ appraisal of Harrison as she was focused primarily on preparing for her own fight, but she was comfortable comparing Harrison to former UFC star Ronda Rousey. Harrison’s former Team USA judo teammate was a dominant force in the bantamweight division before bowing out of competition with consecutive losses Holly Holm and Nunes.

Harrison had to work hard to earn a decision over Vieira, and Peña believes that’s due to limitations in Harrison’s game.

“I definitely think that at some point or another, like Ronda, when you figure out the one-trick pony of being able to stuff a takedown, you realize that the fight is more competitive and more even than people want to give it credit for,” Peña said. “So I think once you stuff the takedown, you realize that you’re actually in a tougher fight than you thought you were, and I think that that’s kind of what played into her head tonight.”

Peña now continues her hunt for a third fight with Nunes, arguably the greatest woman to ever compete in MMA. The two competed in a pair of memorable bouts at UFC 269 and UFC 277, with Peña scoring a shocking upset in the first title fight and Nunes dominating the rematch to become champion again.

The rivals were scheduled to fight a third time at UFC 289 in June 2023, but Peña was forced to withdraw due to a rib injury and Nunes instead fought replacement Irene Aldana. After a lopsided decision win, Nunes announced her retirement from MMA.

“At the end of the day, when I saw Amanda retire that day in Canada, I was sitting cageside and I was booing and it was because I didn’t believe that she was truly done,” Peña said. “Then you hear Dana White saying, ‘I think she retired too early.’ Then you watch her and I feel like she’s just twiddling her thumbs wondering, ‘What is my identity? What am I doing? I’m bored. Who am I if I’m not fighting in the UFC?’ So there’s an air that I feel that she feels like she misses the sport, that she’s looking to find something that’s going to make her want to come back.

“Kayla never mentioned her name when she beat Holly Holm, and she sure is not mentioning her name now. None of the other girls were mentioning Amanda’s name that they considered the greatest of all-time, yet I was, and I never shied away from that, and I still am because I truly do not believe that she’s done. I think she retired too early. I think that she’s looking for something to do and that for me is the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history because we’re 1-1. My fight against her the first time was so dominant I made her tap; our second fight, I ran out of time, I lost a decision handily, fine, no problem, but it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all, and get that trilogy fight that I feel that she ran away from.”

To Harrison’s credit, she has called for a potential fight with Nunes on a number of occasions, despite the fact that they once trained together. However, on Saturday, Harrison only had one goal in mind, warning whoever won the co-main event, “Ladies, enjoy it while you can because the queen is home and she’s coming for that f*cking gold.”

Should Peña’s callout of Nunes fall flat, she welcomes the Harrison fight.

“If Amanda cowers away again, and does not come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right, Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention to the sport, and I actually love that,” Peña said.

SALT LAKE CITY – Julianna Pena is determined to settle the score with Amanda Nunes.

Despite Nunes being retired, Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is still holding out hope for a third fight between the two, especially after her latest showing in the octagon. Peña recaptured the UFC women’s bantamweight title Saturday by outpointing Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in a split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307.

Peña hopes her championship win is enough to lure back Nunes from retirement, that way they can break their 1-1 tie and settle the score to their rivarly.

“When I saw Amanda retire that day, I was sitting cageside, and I was booing because I didn’t believe she was truly done,” Peña said at the UFC 307 post-fight interview. “You hear Dana White saying that he thinks she retired too early, and then you watch her and I think she’s just twiddling her thumbs and saying, ‘What am I doing? I’m bored. Who am I if I’m not fighting in the UFC?’

“There’s an air that I feel that she’s missing this sport and trying to find something to make her want to come back. … I truly do not believe she’s done. She retired too early. I think that she’s looking for something to do.”

Apart from Nunes expressing interest in potentially fighting again, Peña believes a third fight between the two would be the biggest fight in the history of women’s MMA.

“That, to me, is the biggest fight in women’s mixed martial arts history because we’re 1-1,” Peña said. “My fight against her was so dominant, I made her tap. Our second time, I ran out of time. I lost a decision handily – fine. No problem. But it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all and get that trilogy fight that she ran away from.”

There’s no guarantee Nunes would be interested in a return. But if that is the case, Peña is fine defending her title against Kayla Harrsion – who also fought at UFC 307 and beat Ketlen Vieira.

“If Amanda cowards away and doesn’t come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right: Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and attention to the sport, and I love that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Alex Pereira can see why Jamahal Hill might be feeling a little sleepy these days.

He still hasn’t recovered from their first fight.

Hill was in attendance at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City on Saturday to watch Pereira’s latest title defense and in an attempt to troll Pereira following the light heavyweight champion’s incredible win over Khalil Rountree Jr., Hill was caught on camera reacting with a mocking yawn.

Not a bad gag by Hill, considering his long history with Pereira and the fact that he’s still sidelined as he recovers from an injury. There’s only one problem: Pereira has already proven he’s the better man in the cage, having flattened Hill just six months ago.

“Maybe he just woke up from UFC 300,” Pereira said when asked about Hill at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference.”

Hill, a former light heavyweight champion, was actually supposed to fight Rountree at UFC 303, but Rountree was forced off of that event after testing positive for a banned substance (resulting in a suspension that was resolved by the time Rountree was set to fight at UFC 307), and Hill subsequently pulled out with an injury. That sequence of events resulted in Rountree being booked to fight Pereira instead.

The good news for Hill is that it sounds like Pereira is planning to stick around at 205 pounds for the near future, so if Hill can return and string together a win or two, there might just be a rematch in their future.

SALT LAKE CITY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 307 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $407,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 307 took place at Delta Center in Utah. The main card aired on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 307 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

Alex Pereira: $42,000
def. Khalil Rountree: $32,000

Julianna Pena: $32,000
def. Raquel Pennington: $42,000

Mario Bautista: $11,000
def. Jose Aldo: $21,000

Roman Dolidze: $11,000
def. Kevin Holland: $21,000

Kayla Harrison: $4,000
def. Ketlen Vieira: $11,000

Joaquin Buckley: $11,000
def. Stephen Thompson: $21,000

Iasmin Lucindo: $4,500
def. Marina Rodriguez: $11,000

Alexander Hernandez: $11,000
def. Austin Hubbard: $6,000

Cesar Almeida: $4,000
def. Ihor Potieria: $6,000

Ryan Spann: $11,000
def. Ovince Saint Preux: $21,000

Tecia Pennington: $16,000
def. Carla Esparza: $16,000

Court McGee: $21,000
def. Tim Means: $21,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

• “UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” – $407,500
• “UFC Fight Night 243: Moicano vs. Saint Denis” – $173,500
• “UFC 306: Riyadh Season Noche UFC” – $239,500
• “UFC Fight Night 242: Burns vs. Brady” – $157,500
• “UFC on ESPN 62: Cannonier vs. Borralho” – $166,500
• “UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya” – $243,500
• “UFC on ESPN 61: Tybura vs. Spivac 2” – $128,000
• “UFC on ABC 7: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” – $211,000
• “UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2” – $307,500
• “UFC on ESPN 60: Lemos vs. Jandiroba” – $139,000
• “UFC on ESPN 59: Namajunas vs. Cortez” – $180,500
• “UFC 303: Pereira vs. Prochazka 2”, – $311,500
• “UFC on ABC 6: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov” – $186,000
• “UFC on ESPN 58: Perez vs. Taira” – $116,000
• “UFC on ESPN 57: Cannonier vs. Imavov” – $186,500
• “UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier” – $281,500
• “UFC Fight Night 241: Barboza vs. Murphy” – $158,500
• “UFC on ESPN 56: Lewis vs. Nascimento” – $186,000
• “UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg” – $280,000
• “UFC on ESPN 55: Nicolau vs. Perez” – $175,000
• “UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill” – $460,000
• “UFC Fight Night 240: Allen vs. Curtis 2” – $162,500
• “UFC on ESPN 54: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot” – $173,000
• “UFC on ESPN 53: Ribas vs. Namajunas” – $148,000
• “UFC Fight Night 239: Tuivasa vs. Tybura” – $189,500
• “UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera 2” – $359,000
• “UFC Fight Night 238: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev” – $133,500
• “UFC Fight Night 237: Moreno vs. Royval 2” – $135,500
• “UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria” – $243,000
• “UFC Fight Night 236: Hermansson vs. Pyfer” – $236,500
• “UFC Fight Night 235: Dolidze vs. Imavov” – $170,500
• “UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis” – $285,500
• “UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” – $159,500

Year-to-date total: $6,302,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,039,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Dana White had a lot to celebrate at UFC 307 but don’t expect him to applaud the judges or referees working the event.

There were more than a few controversial scorecards delivered — perhaps none more important than Julianna Pena getting a split-decision win over Raquel Pennington in the co-main event — as well as some gaffes from less experienced referees that marred a few of the fights on the card. When it came specifically to the scoring at UFC 307, White didn’t mention any fights by name, but he was clearly not happy with some of the results returned.

“I thought the judging tonight was atrocious,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I felt like I was at a boxing match in Ireland tonight.

“I thought the judging was atrocious tonight. I’ll just leave it that. It was atrocious.”

It’s possible White was also referencing the split-decision win earned by Mario Bautista over Jose Aldo in another main card fight on Saturday, although he definitely wasn’t happy with referee Mike Beltran.

His ire came down to Bautista constantly looking for takedowns, coming up short but then holding Aldo up against the cage in the clinch. There was one moment in particular where Beltran actually separated the fighters, but immediately on the restart, Bautista dove for Aldo’s legs again and it put him right back in the same position on the fence.

“It’s common sense,” White said. “When the guy keeps doing it, and is doing everything he can to not fight, and not win the fight, as a ref, you should break it up immediately. If he just did it three rounds in a row, and he keeps doing it, and they get there, and he doesn’t get the takedown, give him a couple of seconds, see if he gets the takedown and break it up.”

White would actually like to see the referees get more involved in those kinds of situations where he believes stalling tactics are being employed to avoid potential damage from a striking exchange.

The same goes for scoring the fights because White doesn’t understand how someone like Bautista is being rewarded by winning rounds yet not inflicting any real damage.

“I always think that the referees should be more active on that. 100 percent,” White said. “Especially when somebody keeps doing it to stall. You guys aren’t going to f*cking let up on this are you? I guess we’ll get into it. If you’re judging on a guy if it’s control, if it’s this or that, if you’re not trying to fight, how do you win the fight? If you’re looking at attempted takedowns, what about stuffing the takedowns? Just madness.

“When you can tell that the guy definitely doesn’t to stand and strike and just wants to stall against the fence, yes, the refs, that’s their job. When they see it continually happening and the guy is not trying to win the fight, then you keep breaking them up.”

As much as White advocates for referees getting more involved in creating action during a fight, he understands there are limits.

Perhaps the best example of that came earlier in the night during the preliminary card when referee Dave Seljestad broke apart Cesar Almeida and Ihor Potieria just second after they got clinched up against the cage. The commentary team working the fights called out the actions several times as Seljestad almost treated the fight like a boxing match by repeatedly breaking up Almeida and Potieria during the fight.

What made matters worse was the referee failing to administer the rules properly after Potieria suffered through several eye pokes but there was never a point taken away nor was Almeida actually warned about repeated fouls.

Even though White didn’t see what exactly unfolded, he heard all about it afterwards from Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs.

“I missed that [fight],” White said. “I was in my room and we were talking to people, but [Marc] Ratner walked in right after it happened and was like ‘that ain’t happening again tonight.’”

Seljestad didn’t reappear at UFC 307, although the Almeida vs. Potieria bout was already scheduled as his final bout as referee on Saturday.