UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera
After a couple of more throwaway events, the UFC returns to Las Vegas' Apex facility this weekend for a much more intriguing-looking Fight Night card.
UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera features a clash of highly-ranked bantamweights in the main event. Elsewhere on the card, a number of fascinating fights have been put together.
Whether the event will produce the goods inside the octagon, of course, remains to be seen, but overall, hopes should be high for a strong show here.
With this in mind, here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera.
#1. UFC bantamweight division: Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera
With the rivalry between reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and former titleholder Petr Yan done for now, it’s likely that every ranked 135lber in the promotion will now be looking at making a run towards a title shot of their own.
That means that plenty is at stake here when No.5-ranked Rob Font takes on No.8-ranked Marlon Vera. It’s unlikely that either man will be granted a shot at Sterling with a victory, but if they’re impressive, they could well be just one more step away from that.
Interestingly, this is a rare bout that sees a fighter coming off a loss facing one coming off two wins. The last time we saw Font in action, he was well beaten by Jose Aldo, who snapped a four-fight streak of victories that had the Boston native dreaming of title glory.
Vera, meanwhile, also lost to Aldo, but since then he’s beaten Davey Grant and Frankie Edgar, knocking the latter out in impressive fashion with a violent front kick to the face. So how do these two match up?
Whenever Font is discussed, the first thing that comes to mind is his height, length and reach. At 5’8”, he’s one of the taller bantamweights on the roster, and his 71.5” reach means that he can pick at most of his opponents from behind his jab, using it to set up his bigger strikes.
Hats off! 🎩
These two left it all in the Octagon tonight.
[ #UFCVegas27 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] https://t.co/YHBLX30f9g
Font isn’t a fantastic finisher per say, as despite stopping six opponents in the octagon, his bigger wins have tended to go to a decision. However, if he does get an opponent hurt, he’s more than capable of taking them out.
Vera, on the other hand, is probably less technically sound than Font, but he does possess a scary killer instinct. Essentially, if ‘Chito’ hurts an opponent, they’re probably done. The native of Ecuador also doesn’t discriminate between striking and submissions, as he’s more than happy to close out a fight with either.
The big question here, then, is whether Font can keep Vera at the end of his strikes, while also avoiding something nasty coming at him in return. Font has perhaps beaten better opponents than ‘Chito’ during his UFC tenure, but there’s no denying who the more dangerous fighter is.
The X factor might be the fact that while he doesn’t fight behind a jab as well as Font, Vera is actually a surprisingly tall 135lber. He’s the same height as Font and will only be giving up half an inch of reach to him. He’s arguably the better kicker of the two as well.
Chito Vera knocked out Frankie Edgar in the third round at #UFC268 https://t.co/sLhuEiad6O
With that in mind, it’s likely that unless he gets overly wild in an attempt to take Font out early, Vera will probably eat a few jabs, but eventually catch his opponent with a nasty strike, and use that to finish him off.
The Pick: Vera via second-round TKO