Top 5 UFC bantamweight fights of 2021
The UFC had many incredible bantamweight fights in 2021. In recent years, the bantamweight division in MMA has developed into one of the most talented in the sport. In the UFC, it can be argued that the bantamweight division could soon surpass the lightweight division in terms of popularity.
There have been many notable fighters that’ve moved to 135lbs in the past few years. Former UFC champions Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar have moved down a weight-class while Henry Cejudo has moved up.
2021 provided a glimpse into what looks to be a bright future for Sean O’Malley. In addition, fans saw a return to form for former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and former featherweight champion Aldo.
On the women’s side, a new champion was crowned in arguably the biggest upset on the final pay-per-view of the year. This list will look at the top 5 UFC bantamweight fights of 2021.
#5. Jose Aldo vs. Rob Font – UFC on ESPN 31
Kicking off this list is the bout between Jose Aldo and Rob Font. Aldo is regarded as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. Although he experienced a rough start at bantamweight, suffering back-to-back losses, he turned things around in 2021.
Aldo and Font had an opportunity to distance themselves from the rest of the top 5 with an impressive win. Font was riding a four-fight winning streak, while Aldo won back-to-back fights for the first time since 2019.
Aldo vs. Font was a great main event for UFC on ESPN 31. Font did a good job landing his combinations. Aldo responded with powerful strikes to the body and dropped Font on a few occasions. Aldo began using more leg-kicks in the third-round and then took over with his grappling. The fight went the distance and Aldo picked up the unanimous decision win.