5 of the most overlooked fighters in the UFC today
While it’s difficult to predict which fighters will become big stars for the UFC, most of the time, fighters who are willing to push their personalities forward and talk plenty of trash are given the spotlight. That often means talented fighters get overlooked somewhat.
Right now, there are plenty of fighters in the UFC who, despite being hugely talented, are being largely overlooked by both fans and the promotion.
So do these fighters have any chance at all of becoming stars? Sure they have. After all, nobody could’ve seen the stoic Kamaru Usman become a top-level star for the UFC when he was labelled 'boring' a few years ago.
On that note, here're five of the most overlooked fighters in the UFC today.
#5 Rob Font – UFC bantamweight contender
Striker Rob Font ought to be considered a high-level contender for the UFC bantamweight title at this stage of his career. Part of the UFC roster since 2014, the native of Boston is now 9-3 in the octagon, and has huge wins to his name over Marlon Moraes and Cody Garbrandt.
In fact, given that he’s ranked the #4 contender in the division, Font ought to be near the front of the queue when it comes to the next UFC bantamweight title shot. Instead, his name rarely comes up in conversations around the title.
Instead, the UFC and its fans seem more focused on names like TJ Dillashaw, Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo and even Sean O’Malley – preferring to overlook Font despite his highly impressive record.
What’s the reason for this? It could be a combination of Font’s fighting style and his lack of skills on the microphone.
A largely soft-spoken fighter, Font isn’t going to be heard calling out his next opponent in entertaining fashion any time soon. Even after his main event win over Garbrandt, he didn’t outright demand a title shot.
While he does have many finishes on his ledger, he has also won three of his last four fights by decision, including the one over Garbrandt.
That lack of explosive finishes and his quiet nature means he’s probably always destined to be left out of conversations around the UFC bantamweight title. But if you’re judging by talent, he’s certainly in contention.