MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Vegas 53, a five-round bantamweight bout between Rob Font and Marlon Vera. The event takes place on Saturday, April 30 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rob Font (-140)
Font (19-5) is the No. 5 ranked bantamweight in the UFC. The 34-year-old American has fought some of the best fighters in the world in his weight class, holding wins over the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon and Sergio Pettis during his most recent four-fight winning streak. In his last fight, he lost to the legend Jose Aldo, but there’s no shame in losing to such an elite talent. Overall, Font has shown that he is one of the top strikers in the UFC bantamweight division. He has excellent fundamentals as he works well off of his jab and then follows it up with power shots. He can also mix in a takedown here and there, and he has tremendous cardio to go five hard rounds. For years Font has been one of the best fighters at 135lbs and it feels like he’s hit his stride over the last few years. That being said, he is getting up there in age and could soon enter the decline phase of his career. But until we see him lose to someone less than Aldo, it’s hard to say.
Marlon Vera (+120)
Vera (18-7-1) is the No. 8 ranked bantamweight in the UFC. The 29-year-old Ecuadorian has been one of the most exciting 135ers in the UFC for a while now. He is coming off of a massive KO win over Frankie Edgar which announced his ascension into the division’s elite, and he also has wins over the likes of Sean O’Malley and Davey Grant as of late. He, too, also has a recent loss to Aldo. For years, Vera has been destroying unranked opponents, and now that he’s in the top-10, he’s proving his worth. He is a fun fighter who is always in wars, but the fact he is so willing to take one to give one could prove to be costing when he takes on a technician like Font. We’ll soon find out.
Fight Breakdown: This should be another awesome matchup in the UFC bantamweight division, which for my money is the best weight class in the sport these days. Both Font and Vera are ranked in the top-10 for a reason, and that’s because they are both very solid veterans who know what it takes to win. This is certainly a very intriguing matchup given that both men primarily like to strike, which should lead to opportunities for both to hurt each other with big shots as they both have some power. Overall Font throws more volume and gets hit with strikes less frequently, but Vera is the more durable fighter. Both men have great conditioning, but Font has just gone the full five-round distance in her last two fights, something Vera has never done in his entire MMA career. In this matchup, I’m going to lean towards the guy who I have seen make it the full five rounds, so I’m going with Font to outpoint Vera and win the decision, though the threat of a Vera KO is still live.
Prediction: Rob Font
