Prior to each UFC card, Jay Primetown takes a close look at debuting fighters. In the latest installment, we look at Joey Gomez as he takes on Boston’s Rob Font in a bantamweight clash at Fight Night 81. Joey “KO King” Gomez Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia Age: 29 Height: 5’10” Reach: 73” Weight Class: Bantamweight Camp: Team Link Hooksett BJJ Career Record: 6-0 Key Wins: None Key Losses: None Background The former US Marine turned UFC fighter enters his UFC debut on the heels on six consecutive wins to start his career. All of Gomez’s wins have been by knockout in the first round. He’s trained previously at Champions Training Center in Georgia and Team Quest in California. Strengths
- Good boxing
- Combines punches well
- Accurate striking
- Very long reach for the weight class
- Seems to have decent takedown defense
Weaknesses
- Conditioning a question mark due to short fights
- Defensive ground game is a complete mystery
Matchup with Rob Font This is an exciting matchup between two strike-first bantamweights. Rob Font is younger, but is much more battled tested having faced the likes of Desmond Green and George Roop already in his career. Font is a well-rounded striker with good hands and underrated leg kicks. Gomez, on the other hand, is primarily a boxer. In Gomez’ favor he is the more rangy striker and controls distance very well. His punches snap well and his technique is very good. Given his skill set, it comes as no surprise that he’s finished all of his opponents on the regional scene. Gomez has the better hands and boxing technique in this fight. If this fight was guaranteed to play out as a striking only matchup, I’d favor Gomez to win. However, MMA is a lot more complex than that and there are a lot of question marks for Gomez in the wrestling and grappling department. Font’s versatility and experience should get him the win here, but this is certainly not an easy matchup for him. UFC Ceiling Joey Gomez is an interesting fighter to watch as he enters the UFC. First and foremost, he is a striker. In striking matchups, he will look his best. He has really good hands with real snap in his punches. His reach will trouble fighters and he uses it very well making it difficult for opponents to connect. When facing grapplers, he could certainly struggle. He’s a purple belt in jiu jitsu and competed in high school wrestling, but one has to wonder if that will be enough to compete in this division. Currently he’s the bantamweight version of Tony Sims. He needs to show he can perform in other facets of MMA for me to believe he’ll have a long career in the UFC. Fight Film Check out Joey Gomez in some of his most recent fights: Joey Gomez vs. Joe Cushman Joey Gomez vs. Robbie Leroux