MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Vegas 27, a five-round bantamweight bout between top-10 ranked title contenders Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt. The event takes place on Saturday, May 22 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rob Font (-125)
Font (18-4) is the No. 3 ranked contender in the UFC bantamweight division. The 33-year-old American has been in the UFC since 2014 and has gone 8-3 inside the Octagon with six of those wins coming by way of stoppage. In the UFC, he has beaten the likes of Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon, Sergio Pettis, and Matt Schnell, among others, with his UFC losses coming to Pedro Munhoz, Raphael Assuncao, and John Lineker. A professional MMA fighter since 2010, Font is known for his incredible striking and KO power. He has a long reach (71″) for the bantamweight division and it has allowed him to outstrike the majority of his opponents and finish them. He does have a decent ground game as well, though he prefers to stand and trade. Font has been on a hot streak as of late with three straight wins and a big win over Garbrandt could earn him a title shot.
Cody Garbrandt (+105)
Garbrandt (12-3) is the No. 4 ranked contender in the UFC bantamweight division. The 29-year-old American is the former UFC bantamweight champion and overall in the UFC, he has a 7-3 record with notable wins over Dominick Cruz, Raphael Assuncao, and Thomas Almeida, with two losses to TJ Dillashaw and a loss to Pedro Munhoz. Though Garbrandt has wrestling skills, he much prefers to stand and bang with his opponents and for the most part, it has worked out for him as he has 10 career knockout wins to his name. On the flip side, he also has three knockout losses to his credit as well, so his durability is an issue. At his best, Garbrandt is one of the best boxers in the division. He is fast and powerful and has the cardio to go five rounds. But far too often is he willing to trade blows in a firefight, and it just hasn’t worked out for him as of late. Garbrandt has a puncher’s chance against anyone in the division, but the biggest question for him is if his chin can hold up.
Fight Breakdown: This should be a great fight as long as it lasts, which I don’t believe will be long given both men have serious KO power and Garbrandt has durability issues. For me, the biggest key to picking this fight is that Garbrandt has been knocked out in three of his last four fights. I just do no trust his chin at all anymore. Obviously, he still has the KO power himself as we saw against Assuncao, which is why this line is super close as he could catch Font and put him out. But I feel like Font has the power to match Garbrandt and he has the better chin. I don’t see this fight lasting more than a round or two. Give me Font to knock Garbrandt out and potentially earn a title shot.
