The UFC Vegas 27 bantamweight main event bout between Rob Font and former champion Cody Garbrandt would put the winner within reach of a championship opportunity. An opportunity the Boston native has never had, and one many thought Garbrandt might never get back to after three street knockout losses.
The first two minutes were about both showing a lot of respect as neither landed anything notable. Both just feinted and worked jabs to find their range. The first big moment was a combo for Font that landed and got Garbrandt’s attention. With a little under two minutes left, Garbrandt scored his first takedown since 2016. It was more of a points scorer though as Font was able to get things back up. After Font started to land with consistency, especially his overhand right, Garbrandt scored a second takedown with under a minute left.
In the second, this wrestling version of “No Love” continued as he earned a third takedown early in the round. This time he was able to keep the Boston fighter on the ground for a couple of minutes before Font threatened a kimura to return things to the feet. Font continued to stalk his opponent and land his jab as Garbrandt looked to stay out of range. Despite being held down for the first half of the round, Font was the dominant force in the second half, making it a tough round to score and possibly two in the bag for the New England Cartel talent.
Rob Font dominates in the biggest win of his career over former champion Cody Garbrandt
The third is more of the same cat and mouse game. As Font walks down the former champion and bloodies up his nose and sticks a nice jab over and over. Then lands an occasional combo to do damage. Garbrandt lands here and there but his opponent is clearly landing the shots with more substance. The one difference in this round? The fourth-ranked Garbrandt could not get the takedown.
By the fourth, the 29-year-old is looking slightly defeated as he gets walked down and hit with a jab barrage and nice body punches from Font. The 33-year-old is slowly dissecting his more famous opponent like he was the former bantamweight champion. In the fifth, sensing he needed a finish, Garbrandt started out more aggressive and landed several big shots on Font. However, the Puerto Rican ate it and delivered it back in kind. With a minute left Font buzzed his foe twice with punches that stunned him. However, like the whole fight, Garbrandt showed his toughness and continued on admirably despite being outmatched all night.
The final decision was easy as the third-ranked Font was given the unanimous decision by the judges. It was a monumental win for him as he is on a four-fight win streak and is racking up victories on former champions and title challengers. He is front and center in the conversation to get the winner of the Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling title rematch. Although, the winner of TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen in July could certainly change plans. Either way, Font is on a roll and without a doubt one of the best bantamweights on the planet.
Garbrandt has now lost four out five and all the losses have been one-sided defeats. The man who dominated Dominick Cruz in 2016 seems long gone, and I am not quite sure if a move to flyweight will change his fortunes. Several steps back and total confidence rebuild may be in order for Garbrandt.
Join the discussion on this topic…
Share