SALT LAKE CITY – Ryan Spann said he intended to stay away from the guillotine choke at UFC 307. But when the opportunity presented itself, he couldn’t help but indulge.

“I was trying to stay away from it because we both have a move that we’re good at,” Spann told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “His move is supposed to be the counter to my move. So we ended up seeing who had the better move, I suppose.”

Spann (22-10 MMA, 8-5 UFC) submitted longtime UFC veteran Ovince Saint Preux (27-18 MMA, 15-13 UFC) with his signature high-elbow guillotine choke at 1:35 of Round 1 at Delta Center.

Despite the fight’s brevity, Spann said he felt there were some obvious mistakes he made.

“I felt, at times, in there, while moving, that I was a little sloppy. I didn’t do things conducive to what we’ve been working on every day at Fortis. I want to fix that and clean that up. … I felt it when I did it. There were a couple times I looked over like, ‘Hey, I know. My bad.’”

Now that a three-fight skid is snapped and he’s back in the win column, Spann is excited to try to build off that momentum in his return. But until his manager and coach Sayif Saud gets the offer from UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, Spann will be enjoying life as a dad.

“I just want to get back to work,” Spann said. “I’m blessed with the opportunity to be able to do this and provide for my family. So we’re just going to get back to work. My son is starting and has always started football. Because I’ve been so busy with this, I’ve had to miss out on some things. Now, I can focus on him while doing my work at the same time.”

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

Alex Pereira’s remarkable run in the UFC continued with a fourth-round knockout of Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC 307 to retain the light heavyweight championship. “Poatan” has many options in front of him, and while he says he plans to remain at 205 to defend his belt, is that what ultimately happens for one of the UFC’s biggest stars?

On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss what could be next for Pereira and Rountree following their thrilling headliner on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for new women’s bantamweight champ Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington after their co-main event ended with a controversial split decision, Mario Bautista following his split decision victory against Jose Aldo, Roman Dolidze after his injury TKO win over Kevin Holland, along with fellow main card winner Kayla Harrison, and more.

Watch the UFC 307 edition of On To the Next One in the video above. Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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‘Out of step’

‘A rich history’

SALT LAKE CITY – Alex Pereira still hopes to compete at heavyweight some day.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) retained his light heavyweight title in Saturday’s UFC 307 headliner at Delta Center when he brutally finished Khalil Rountree by Round 4 TKO.

Prior to beating Rountree for his third title defense in seven months, Pereira expressed interest in dropping back down to middleweight to challenge Dricus Du Plessis. But with his training partner Sean Strickland looking for his title-fight rematch with Du Plessis, “Poatan” has now changed his tune.

“We saw that Dricus is going to be fighting Sean Strickland. (Strickland) is a training partner of mine,” Pereira told Joe Rogan in his post-fight octagon interview (h/t UFC). “I don’t want to get in his way. I can move up to heavyweight, but this division is great. I feel great with this weight cut, and this is where I’m at.”

That doesn’t mean Pereira doesn’t have heavyweight in his sights. He may plan on staying at light heavyweight for the time being, but he hopes to eventually make the move up.

“I’ve called for (heavyweight) before, and Dana came in there and was very happy, and he said he was going to take care of me,” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “I think that if the UFC wants to please me, I think maybe a fight at heavyweight one day would be something that would really please me.”

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

Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr. put on a show in the UFC 307 main event and earned high praise from their boss.

The battle between two elite strikers ended after Pereira busted up Rountree in the fourth round as several cuts resulted in blood just pouring down the challenger’s face and chest. With Rountree fading, Pereira seized on the opening by delivering a pair of brutal body shots followed by an uppercut that helped him secure his third knockout win in 2024.

UFC CEO Dana White took a victory lap after he heard some complaints that Rountree wasn’t deserving because of his ranking because he knew the stylistic matchup would deliver come fight night.

“Did this not play out the way everybody thought it would?” White said at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “Everybody knew. Everybody at first, ‘Oh, he’s ranked No. 8’ — you knew it was going to be a badass fight. You knew it was going to be a badass fight.

“You can never measure heart. You don’t know how that’s going to go. Now you know.”

While Pereira ultimately got the win, he had to bide his time during the first couple of rounds as Rountree came out gunning for the knockout.

White was incredibly impressed by Rountree’s willingness to stand in the pocket and exchange with arguably the most lethal striker in recent UFC history.

“He had no fear from the first round,” White said about the title challenger. “Khalil Rountree went in there and started going at it the minute the bell rang. No fear, no jitters, no nerves. Maybe he had some jitters and nerves, if he did, he didn’t show it.

“He went right in against one of the baddest dudes of all time and just started mixing it up with him. It was awesome.”

When it came to Pereira’s performance, White noted that “Poatan” used a brilliant strategy to dismantle Rountree by chopping away at his foundation through a series of crippling calf kicks.

After Rountree’s leg was chewed up and compromised, Pereira didn’t have to fear reprisal as much when he stepped in the pocket to trade punches. That led to Pereira slicing and dicing Rountree with his lead jab before he set up the fight-finishing combination against the cage.

“I felt like the difference was the low leg kick,” White said about Pereira’s strategy. “When he started calf kicking him, he was destroying that leg and [Khalil] was having trouble putting pressure on it and he was having trouble with his punching power, his movement everything. He systematically just started picking him apart.”

It turns out Pereira had his opponent perfectly scouted because White was reminded about a pre-fight feature where the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion laid out exactly what he needed to do to beat Rountree on Saturday night.

“When I watched the feature [on the fight], he said, ‘This guy hits hard, he’s tough, he’s this, he’s that and this guy has a dream but my fight IQ will win this fight,’” White said. “He said that in the combo feature and that’s exactly the way it played out.”

Considering the momentum that Pereira has built recently along with the highlight-reel finishes, he’s starting to put together the kind of résumé that rivals a number of UFC legends.

That includes Anderson Silva, who was arguably the most feared champion on the entire UFC roster during his reign over the middleweight division. Now it seems like Pereira is carrying around that same kind of invincible aura.

“What this guy has done is unbelievable,” White said about Pereira. “Not just if you want to compare him to [Anderson Silva], the way he’s done it. This guy destroys everybody.”

A lightweight banger is set for New York.

Charlie Campbell vs. Mauricio Ruffy has been added to UFC 309, the Nov. 16 event at Madison Square Garden.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The bout was first reported Monday by Ag.Fight.

Campbell (9-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) steps into a slot on the promotion’s matchmaking schedule opposite Ruffy (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) that’s been vacant for a while.

The promotion has sought to book Ruffy since UFC 303 in June, but has struggled to find him a willing opponent. Ruffy was listed on the fight card graphic for the initial UFC 307 announcement but did not end up competing on the Oct. 5 card.

There’s much hype surrounding The Fighting Nerds‘ Ruffy, who teed up an electric promotional debut when he pummeled Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301 in May. The win was his fifth in a row. Given his flashy style and 100 percent TKO rate in wins, Ruffy has drawn comparisons by many fans to Conor McGregor.

New York’s Campbell will fight in his home state as he looks to extend his winning streak to four. In his two UFC appearances to date, Campbell knocked out Alex Reyes and won a unanimous decision over Trevor Peek.

With the addition, the UFC 309 lineup includes:

• Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
• Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
• Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
• Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
• Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
• Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Charlie Campbell vs. Mauricio Ruffy
• Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura
• Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
• Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
• Bassil Haffez vs. Oban Elliot

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.