For Font, the future has arrived
One-sided triumph at UFC 220 in Boston shows hometown fighter is on the way back
Rob Font was never described as the next big thing the way Thomas Almeida once was.
On Saturday at UFC 220, though, Font left little doubt that in early-2018, he’s a considerably more dangerous fighter than the Brazilian.
After a relatively even first round, Font unloaded an absolutely vicious beating on Almeida that had referee Herb Dean mercifully stepping in to stop the fight at the 2:24 mark in the first round.
It took a lot to put Almeida down and the Brazilian should be credited for his toughness, as he survived a perfect straight right to the temple, multiple heavy punches in and around his skull and then a head kick that essentially put the fight to bed.
The whole time, Font’s hometown Boston crowd was losing its mind as their man ensured he bounced back from an embarrassing first-round submission loss to Pedro Munhoz last-October.
That defeat had slowed Font’s rise up the bantamweight rankings, but Saturday’s big win should put him back on track towards the top-10.
For Almeida, meanwhile, a once promising career has gone way, way off the rails.
Since suffering his first professional defeat to Cody Garbrandt in May 2016, he’s now beaten Albert Morales and fallen to both Jimmie Rivera and Font.
All three of his losses have come against elite competition, but Almeida was once treated as Brazil’s next-great UFC star.
That appears less and less likely to ever be the case.
CORMIER A BIG HIT
Daniel Cormier has defended his 205-pound title with a dominating performance over Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event of UFC 220.
Cormier (20-1) had the Boston crowd behind him and Oezdemir (16-1) taking shots in front of him Saturday night, putting him away just two minutes into the second round. Cormier raised his hands in triumph as UFC president Dana White wrapped the title belt around his waist. He dropped to his knees on the canvas and said he proved he was worthy of being called champion.
Cormier was awarded the title after Jon Jones was stripped of his light heavyweight championship when he failed his latest doping test. Cormier had lived in Jones’ shadow for the last few years of his career.
But against Oezdemir, he was worthy of the title.
Cormier nearly put away Oezdemir in the first round with a choke until there was a late save by the bell. But Cormier pinned Oezdemir against the canvas early in the second and finished him off with a series of punches to the face.
In the co-main event, Stipe Miocic topped Francis Ngannou by unanimous decision to retain his heavyweight crown.
ONE PUNCH
Considering the top-heavy nature of Saturday night’s UFC 220 card, it was always a little strange that Islam Makhachev was slotted to fight Gleison Tibau in the very first bout on the prelims.
It only took Makhachev 57 seconds to ensure he’ll never be scheduled in such a low-visibility position again.
Makhachev stormed out at the beginning of the first round and connected with essentially the very first power-punch he threw.
The left connected right on the button, and Tibau was done.
Suddenly, Makhachev has strung together an impressive three-fight win streak and has put himself in a position where he’s earned a match against someone in the lightweight division’s top-15.
And like any smart fighter, the Dagestani knew exactly who he was going to ask for.
“In the top-15, there are a lot of bum opponents,” Makhachev said. “I think the No. 1 bum opponent is Kevin Lee. UFC, give me Kevin Lee.”
To be fair, Makhachev might be getting a little ahead of himself if he thinks the UFC is going to give him Lee, who was last seen in the octagon back in October when he was fighting for the interim 155 lbs. title against Tony Ferguson.
Tibau’s no slouch, but he’s not exactly the type of guy who gets you a shot at one of the best in your division when you beat him.
Tibau, after all, hadn’t fought in two years and while he’s a veteran of the sport whose time in the octagon is worthy of respect, the Saturday night loss was his third straight UFC defeat.
He’s not considered an elite fighter by anyone, and was seen as a stepping stone for Makhachev prior to UFC 220.