UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo
This Saturday sees the UFC return after a weekend away for UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo at Las Vegas’ Apex facility.
This UFC Fight Night does not seem to be getting much attention from fans, but despite being in the shadow of the upcoming UFC 269 event, it’s a strong card in its own right. So with a number of key fights in various weight classes up and down the division, this should almost certainly be an event worth watching.
With that in mind, here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo.
#1. Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo - UFC bantamweight
It’s basically set in stone now that the UFC bantamweight title will be unified at some point in early 2022, with champion Aljamain Sterling set to rematch interim champ Petr Yan. Once that fight is out of the way, though, who will take the next title shot? It’s definitely not inconceivable that it could be the winner of this clash.
Currently ranked at No.4 in the division, Rob Font is comfortably on the best run of his UFC career. The lanky Boston-based striker has a hugely underrated 9-3 record in the octagon and, right now, he’s on a four-fight win streak.
Most importantly, his last two wins came over two very high-level opponents in the form of Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Moraes, making him a genuine threat to any fighter in the division.
Hats off! 🎩
These two left it all in the Octagon tonight.
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Jose Aldo, on the other hand, is at an odd stage in his career. At 35 years old and with well over a decade of fighting under his belt, most fans figured he’d be slowing down at this stage.
Three back-to-back losses to Alexander Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes, albeit in controversial fashion, and Petr Yan seemed to confirm that idea. However, the former UFC featherweight champ has now beaten Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz and looked back to his best in both fights.
Top tier Brazilian talent was on full display last night 🇧🇷 🤝 #UFC265 @JoseAldoJunior @PedroMunhozMMA https://t.co/e0tbGZoukZ
So how do these two fighters match up? Naturally, it’s likely to be a striking-based bout. Font has a couple of submission wins on his ledger, while Aldo’s grappling has always been underrated, but the truth is that both men prefer to fight on their feet.
With that considered, then, the result could come down to how Aldo manages to handle the length and reach of Font. The Boston native only has a one-inch height advantage and a two-inch reach advantage, but he’s very skilled at using that height to keep opponents at the end of his ramrod jab.
However, it’s worth noting that Font’s last few victims were at a much larger disadvantage in terms of reach than Aldo will be and, more to the point, Vera has a similar reach to Font and didn’t give Aldo all that many problems. When you add in the fact that this will probably be the biggest fight of Font’s career and the fact that Aldo will be the best leg kicker that he’s ever faced, it might not bode all that well for him.
If Font can win this fight then he’ll almost certainly be in line for a shot at the UFC bantamweight title at some point in 2022. However, given that Aldo didn’t appear to be close to being finished in his wins over Munhoz and Vera, it seems like a very hard task for him.
Is it possible for Father Time to catch up with Aldo here? There’s definitely a chance, but if that doesn’t happen, he should win here. The pick is Aldo via decision.
The Pick: Aldo via unanimous decision
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