Sports
UFC 307: Preview, Props, Odds & Trends


Alex Pereira makes the third title defense of his light heavyweight title he opposes Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of UFC 307 that begins at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Pereira (11-2 MMA), a 37-year-old Brazilian, is fresh off back-to-back knockout victories against ex-UFC light heavyweight champions Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in June.
Rountree (14-5 MMA), a 34-year-old Los Angeles native, is rated No. 8 in the light heavyweight division, having won five straight fights. In his latest outing, he finished Anthony Smith by third-round TKO in December, earning the title shot.
Pereira said Thursday at the pre-fight press conference that he greatly respects Rountree Jr. for accepting the fight and his willingness and belief as one of the division’s best fighters.
“Khalil’s up there,” Pereira said via translation. “You can’t deny that anymore. For all the work he’s put in, he is a great striker in this organization. He got the shot, and I am grateful (to fight him).”
LOPSIDED ACTION
Pereira is one of nine UFC fighters to capture championships in multiple weight classes. He won the UFC middleweight title at UFC 281 in November 2022 with a stunning TKO of long-time rival Israel Adesanya. Pereira’s reign was short-lived, however, as he lost the belt to Adesanya in an immediate rematch at UFC 287 in April 2023.
Pereira is a -470 favorite at DraftKings, where he has been the most heavily-bet fighter on the card, and a -520 favorite at FanDuel, with Rountree a heavy underdog at +360 and +350, respectively. Pereira winning by submission (+1600) has been thee most popular winning method at DraftKings, where Rountree winning by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification is next at +500.
BetMGM has also seen one-sided support for Pereira, who has drawn 79 percent of the bets and 66 percent of the money at -500.
THEY SAID IT
Rountree said he is remaining loose and relaxed ahead of the biggest fight of his career. He said he wants this fight remembered as a vehicle for those who can achieve anything.
“Ask yourself this question, right?” Rountree said. “Everybody in the crowd asks yourself this question, ‘What do you want in life? Like, what do you actually want? Not material. When it comes down to a feeling, a vision that you see for yourself. What do you want? And what’s stopping you? That’s what I’m asking myself right now, and that’s what I’ve asked myself all the way up until this point. What’s stopping me from getting what I want?
“For me, the answer has been myself. I think that it’s the same for a lot of people. A lot of times, it’s ourselves in front of us that’s stopping us. So, for me, it’s like, I’ve overcome that (feeling) so many times. And I’m at this point right now. The challenge is not done.”
TITLE BOUT IN CO-MAIN EVENT
The co-main event is a title bought featuring the UFC women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington (16-8 MMA) and former champion Julianna Pena (11-5 MMA). Both women are mainstays of the division and were ex-roommates on The Ultimate Fighter 18, but they have never had the opportunity to compete.
Pena went on to win the season and four out of her first six UFC outings before earning a title shot against then-champion Amanda Nunes. Pena upset Nunes to win the belt in a one-sided affair at UFC 269 in December 2021, securing a second-round rear-naked-choke.
Similarly to the Adesanya-Pereira rivalry, Pena’s championship run lasted less than a year. At UFC 277 in July 2022, Nunes swept the scorecards to win back the belt. She defended it again the following summer against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 before retiring after the victory.
Pennington wound up claiming the vacant title by winning a sixth straight bout, defeating Mayra Bueno Silva by decision at UFC 297 in January.
Pennington opened as the -185 favorite at BetMGM, with those odds shifting to -150 despite drawing 62 percent of the total bets and 53 percent of the money to beat Pena (+125).
OTHER MAIN CARD FIGHTS
ROMAN DOLIDZE VS. KEVIN HOLLAND
The middleweights open the main card. Dolidze will step into the Octagon for the third time this year, having rebounded from a February loss to Nassourdine Imavov by notching a short-notice unanimous decision victory over Anthony Smith at UFC 303.
Dolidze, who has split his UFC time between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, can move up the middleweight ranks with a win over Holland, who snapped a two-fight losing streak with a first-round submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in his most recent fight. However, he has won just one of his past four middleweight fights.
Holland opened at -165 at BetMGM, but those odds have shifted to -145 with the public backing him with 61 percent of the money. But the total bets have been almost split, with Dolidze holding a slight edge with 53 percent.
JOSE ALDO VS. MARIO BAUTISTA
This bantamweight fight pits the Brazilian Aldo against Bautista, a rising name who faces his stiffest test to date. Aldo came out of a brief retirement to score a decision win over Jonathan Martinez in Rio de Janeiro in May. Bautista, meanwhile, is riding a six-fight win streak. The MMA Lab product most recent earned a unanimous decision win over Ricky Simon.
The public has been split, with Bautista backed by 56 percent of the money as the -140 favorite, while Aldo has been supported by a whopping 79 percent of the bets — driving his odds down from +130 to +115 by Friday.
KETLEN VIEIRA VS. KAYLA HARRISON
This women’s bantamweight fight features the 135-pound mainstay Vieira against the newcomer Harrison, who dominated former champion Holly Holm in her UFC debut in April. Vieira, who also has a win over Holm on her resume, lost a split decision against Pennington before beating Pannie Kianzad.
It’s a massive fight for both women, with the winner in excellent position to face the winner of Pennington-Pena in the co-main event. Harrison is the biggest favorite on the main card at -1100. That has led to lopsided action for Vieira, who has drawn 83 percent of the total bets and 80 percent of the money as the +700 underdog.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24


LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series


The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement


Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media