Tonight's UFC main event is between top five bantamweights, #4 Rob Font and #5 Jose Aldo. A victory for either man can definitely catapult them into a championship fight in the near future. What a cool matchup, this will be an awesome battle.
Font on the left, Aldo on the right.
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Both of these fighters fight the exact same way. Throwing hands. Limbs. They aren't usually too eager to grapple, although they both have high level jiu-jitsu, with Font owning a brown belt and Aldo owning a black belt in the sport.
I expect these two to just trade punches, elbows, kicks, and knees.
Jose Aldo is a straight up legend of MMA. I mean that's like saying the sky is blue in the MMA community. His accomplishments are pretty endless. He could have arguably retired seven years ago and been a Hall of Famer. Perhaps even earlier honestly.
Watching Aldo fight is a real treat, not even because he might be close to retirement. At only thirty-five years old, he has the accomplishments of a fifty year-old retired GOAT. At this point Aldo seems to be fighting successfully in two pretty distinct eras of MMA. Watching Aldo fight is a treat because it is pretty rare to be able to watch a GOAT in his prime just compete and still be able to beat nearly anyone. Aldo is not quite the same, maybe. But Aldo is in a special rare place in his career that whatever win he can manage to stack up, adds to his tremendous legacy. Real icing on the cake.
This is a full fight from Aldo's last fight. A victory over Pedro Munhoz on August 7th, 2021.
Rob Font on the other hand is only a year younger than Aldo, but hasn't accomplished quite as much. Still, his career path has been interesting and successful. From my perspective, Font was like a mysterious fighter that I always heard about but often missed his fights. But I've definitely noticed him more the past couple of years. He's been pro since 2011, and in the UFC since 2014. After his successful UFC debut, Font didn't fight for a year and a half. Then in 2016 he really started being active.
Font is simply a good fighter overall. Super game, tough, and slick. Kind of a boxing heavy style. Pretty big guy for the weight class, and he's a good athlete. Since 2014 Font is 9-3 in the UFC, gaining wins over notable opponents like:
- Thomas Almeida
- Sergio Pettis
- Ricky Simón
- Marlon Moraes
- Cody Garbrandt
Recently, Font is on a four fight win streak defeating Pettis, Simon, Moraes, and Garbrandt consecutively. Getting a fifth win over a legend like Aldo in a stacked Bantamweight Division, would grant him the keys to a title fight.
Here's Font in his most recent fight. A victory over Cody Garbrandt on May 22, 2021.
Aldo had a bit of a rocky start to his Bantamweight career after fighting at featherweight for so long. But he's recovered well recently, getting wins over good opponents like Marlon 'Chito' Vera and Pedro Munhoz. A third win in a row over a surging Font would probably get him a title fight. Aldo's Championship name and legacy can speed up the process a little I believe. But if the fight is close or super boring and Aldo wins, perhaps he'll need one more victory for a title fight, who knows.
My initial gut tells me Font is ready for this moment and will get the win, but it's also very difficult to underestimate a guy like Aldo man. He's a legend.
Font looks to be a bit thicker of a dude, but Aldo typically has an explosive power advantage and years and years of high level experience.
There is a lot on the line in this one. Aldo wants to take his legacy and career to the next level by winning a second championship in a different weight class, which would be epic.
Rob Font wants to put New England MMA on the map in a BIG way by becoming Champion and becoming much more well known in general. This is by far the biggest fight of Font's life for so many reasons.
Font's hunger might be the difference in the end. But man, this is why the UFC is great! Insane matchups that are so hard to pick!
Who do you got winning tonight? Leave a comment with any predictions!
