MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC on ESPN 35.
UFC on ESPN 35 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.
Rob Font (19-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC)
Rob Font
Staple info:
Height: 5’8″ Age: 34 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach:71.5″
Last fight: Decision loss to Jose Aldo (Dec. 4, 2021)
Camp: New England Cartel (Boston)
Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ CES featherweight title
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt
+ 8 knockout victories
+ 4 submission wins
+ 8 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Good feints and footwork
+ Excellent jab
+ Accurate shot selection
^ Strikes well off the breaks
+ Underrated wrestling ability
^ Defensively and offensively
+ Solid transitional grappler
^ Dangerous guillotine choke
Marlon Vera (20-7-1 MMA, 10-6 UFC)
Marlon Vera
Staple info:
Height: 5’8″ Age: 29 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 70.5″
Last fight: Knockout win over Frankie Edgar (Nov. 6, 2021)
Camp: RVCA Gym (California)
Stance/striking style: Switch-stance/muay Thai
Risk management: Fair
Supplemental info:
+ “TUF: Latin America 1” alum
+ Regional MMA title
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 7 KO victories
+ 8 submission wins
+ 7 first-round finishes
+ Steadily builds pace and pressure
+ Improved overall striking
^ Boxing, bodywork, shifting combos
+ Hard kicks and knees
^ Effective at multiple ranges
+ Offense-heavy clinch game
^ Elbows, knees, trips, etc.
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Active and attacking guard
Point of interest: Process vs. opportunism
Marlon Vera, UFC 268
The main event on ESPN features an interesting clash of styles between Rob Font and Marlon Vera.
Piecing together a sharp striking game from all ends of the New England fight scene, Font will intelligently utilize his jab as both a battering ram and connecting piece for crosses and kicks, occasionally attaching it as a check to catch his opposition on the way out of exchanges.
When feeling in stride, Font will smoothly shift his stance in combination to better follow fleeing opposition. The 11-year pro is diligent about finishing combos off of his lead hand but can also adjust on the fly with knees should he spot a level change.
Nevertheless, even with good eyes in exchanges, Font is still susceptible to being hit given the targets that his frame affords. And considering the multi-level threat that he’ll be standing across from this Saturday, I suspect that feints will be a big key for Font.
Although Vera is not exactly a pinpoint counter striker, the Ecuadorian fighter has come a long way since his stint on the first season of “TUF LATAM.”
Carrying a long frame for the division, Vera initially focused on a kick-heavy approach from a southpaw stance after making the move to California to train with Team Oyama. Vera will still shift forward while connecting kicks and punches, but the 29-year-old has really cleaned up his boxing fundamentals since working with noted striking coach, Jason Parillo.
A former boxer who has helped former UFC champions like B.J. Penn and Michael Bisping, Parillo has seemingly imparted a lot of his knowledge to Vera. Fighting much more competently and confidently out of an orthodox stance, it is now much more common to see Vera attempt to hit catch-and-pitch counters off of rear-handed parries, demonstrating good eyes in the pocket from start to finish.
Vera is also a fan of mixing things up to the body, doing a bulk of his striking damage in the clinch. Whether he’s is launching knees up the middle or slashing up-elbows off of collar ties that gives me flashbacks to the ones that Jim Miller hit Joe Lauzon with back at UFC 155, Vera is a certified woodchipper within closed quarters.
Point of interest: Potential grappling threats
Rob Font vs. Sergio Pettis, UFC on FOX 31
Considering the potential for chaos on the feet, no one should be surprised if this party hits the floor.
Despite Vera carrying a higher rank in jiu-jitsu and owning more submission wins on paper, I suspect that Font will be the more likely pursuer of takedowns in this spot.
Quietly working on his wrestling throughout his UFC career, Font has made measurable efforts to improve his first-layer defense and his tactics against the fence. Font also – for better or worse – has never been shy when it comes to shaking things up in the offensive grappling department.
The New England native has a solid reactive shot in the open and can finish fine from cage and clinch positions. And when the fight does hit the floor, Font shows a savvy transition game when working from topside.
That said, Font will need to make sure he’s staying both sharp and busy if he means to best a scrappy grappler like Vera.
Despite wrestling traditionally being Vera’s weakest link, he’s made diligent efforts to improve in this department – particularly defensively. And when Vera is grounded, the native of Ecuador is good about staying active with everything from submission chains to slicing elbows off of his back.
Should this fight hit the scorecards, then I could easily see it hinging on the value of Font’s positional work from topside versus the effectiveness of Vera’s offense from bottom.
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
Marlon Vera
The oddsmakers and public are slightly siding with the American, listing Font -140 and Vera +110 via Tipico Sportsbook.
The betting spread above initially opened a little wider, but the public and I both seem to agree that this fight feels a bit closer to pick’em odds.
I believe that Font will get off to a great start in this fight, I just suspect that he’ll need to walk a fine line in order to keep the lead for five rounds.
Each fighter has struggled with dedicated counter fighters who consistently work the body, but Font seems to also have problems with aggressive pressure (which is probably why we see him shoot somewhat desperate shots when the temperature gets turned up).
Couple all that with Vera’s improved defense and stupid durability, and I can’t help but side with the tireless and aggressive underdog to force a club-and-sub scenario in the mid-to-late rounds.