Marlon Vera put a terrible beating on Rob Font over the course of five rounds at UFC Fight Night on Saturday. Vera and Font took part in a significant bantamweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas that presents the winner with an opportunity to take on the division's elite.
Font got off to a solid start against the traditionally slow-starting Vera. Font repeatedly found a home for his beautiful jab and found success with the right uppercut as well. "Chito" invested early and often in kicking his opponent's lead leg, specifically targeting the calf.
Font immediately opened the second round with a three-punch combination that landed flush and drew a visible reaction from Vera. Vera notably landed a spinning back kick to Font's midsection and solid punches to the dome, but Font generally returned two for every one that Vera scored with. Vera landed a thumping left hook in the final 15 seconds that dropped Font and had him scrambling to survive to the bell.
Vera was animated heading into Round 3, eager to capitalize on the damage he dished out in the final moments of Round 2. Font landed a takedown early, but "Chito" quickly broke free. Font continued to find success with his jab as did Vera with various kicks to the head, body and legs. Much like in the second round, Font was outlanding Vera and arguably winning the round. Then Vera's power reared its ugly head once more, landing a picture-perfect knee in the final 10 seconds that dropped Font and had him hanging on for dear life.
Round 4 played out almost identically to the previous three. Font persisted with volume boxing that landed frequently. It was again Font's inability to meaningfully hurt Vera that permitted "Chito" to win back the round. A stunning hook kick dropped Font and exasperated a cut on Font's forehead.
Font entered the final frame as a man possessed. He put all the pressure on Vera through the first half, landing with whipping body shots, combination boxing up top and even a sneaky elbow to the head. Font was landing the more frequent, impactful blows for almost the entirety of the round as Vera took his foot off the gas. "Chito" then landed another hook kick that stumbled Font with 15 seconds left. Vera started showboating before the end of the fight as a terribly battered Font looked on.
Vera took home the scorecards of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46. Immediately afterwards, Vera called for a fight with the third, second and first ranked bantamweight contenders during his post-fight interview. As of Saturday night, those men are Jose Aldo, T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan, respectively.
Vera now boasts a three-fight winning streak over Font, Frankie Edgar and Davey Grant.