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Last night’s UFC Fight Night event was a highly anticipated one thanks to an epic-sounding bantamweight headliner, and in the end, the show overall delivered the goods.
With plenty of cool finishes, UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera was an entertaining show, and a number of fighters picked up key victories to move themselves forward.
While this event will probably be lost in the shuffle soon, it was definitely memorable for what it was.
With that in mind, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera.
#5. Joanderson Brito – defeated Andre Fili in a UFC featherweight bout
Last night’s most explosive finish belonged to Joanderson Brito, who needed just 41 seconds to dispatch featherweight veteran Andre Fili in his second trip to the octagon.
The fact that he pulled off such a nasty finish – essentially landing with every strike he threw in the short period that the fight lasted for – would automatically make him one of the event’s big winners, particularly because he also netted himself a nice $50k bonus for his troubles.
However, the fact that he basically didn’t eat a strike from such a dangerous opponent in return makes him an even bigger victor overall. Over his eight-year tenure with the UFC, Fili has become renowned for his ability to drag most of his opponents into dirty brawls with both fighters taking damage.
That wasn’t the case here, though, and should Brito want to go down this route, he could probably take a late-notice fight in as little as a month’s time – or even less – to look to capitalize on the momentum that he gained last night.
Overall, then, this was a hell of a way for the Brazilian to mark his second trip to the octagon, particularly as his debut didn’t go so well against the underrated Bill Algeo. Hopefully we don’t need to wait too long to see him in action again.
#4. Grant Dawson – defeated Jared Gordon in a UFC lightweight bout
Few fighters have managed to remain undefeated for a lengthy period of time in the UFC while still going unnoticed, but somehow, lightweight prospect Grant Dawson has done just that. However, after last night, ‘KGD’ may not be flying under the radar for much longer.
Dawson picked up the sixth win of his octagon career by choking out Jared Gordon in the third round of what was somewhat of a tricky bout for him, and given that only two of his wins have gone the distance, it’s hard to imagine him not being pushed up the ladder next time out.
This win definitely didn’t come without a fight, though. Gordon, who had never been submitted previously, pushed Dawson hard at times and was able to survive some horrible positions on the ground in the first two rounds.
In the end, though, he simply couldn’t keep it up, and wound up trapped in a body triangle. Moments later, Dawson slapped on a fight-ending rear naked choke.
Dawson’s post-fight interview saw him demand respect, reminding people that the last time he lost a bout, Barack Obama was the US President – and with his strong record, it’s time to move him up the ladder. An opponent like Diego Ferreira or Dan Hooker would work for him next, giving him the chance to climb into the UFC’s lightweight rankings for the first time.
#3. Alexandr Romanov – defeated Chase Sherman in a UFC heavyweight bout
Another fighter who extended a lengthy winning run last night was Alexandr Romanov. The heavyweight prospect needed just over two minutes to dispatch Chase Sherman in pretty dominant fashion, extending his overall record to 16-0.
It’s arguable that this victory was perhaps the most impressive thus far from ‘King Kong’, despite the fact that Sherman took the bout on relatively late notice. ‘The Vanilla Gorilla’ looked like the bigger man in the octagon, but still found himself thrown around like a ragdoll before being submitted with a brutal Americana in the first round.
It’s pretty clear that Romanov is far better than the lower-level opponents he’s been facing. Early on, he looked like a physically powerful but crude fighter who would hit a wall against a more skilled foe, but thus far at least, that’s not been the case at all.
Can the native of Moldova climb into title contention in the heavyweight division? He might have a fair chance, especially as the division does seem to allow for more limited fighters to find success than some of the UFC’s other weight classes.
Like Grant Dawson, then, it’s time for the promotion to give ‘King Kong’ a big step up in his next visit to the octagon, allowing him a chance at a top fifteen opponent. After last night’s big win, he deserves the opportunity.
#2. Andrei Arlovski – defeated Jake Collier in a UFC heavyweight bout
It wasn’t pretty at all – in fact, a number of online observers thought that he deserved to lose. However, the fact that Andrei Arlovski was able to outpoint Jake Collier last night to pick up his 23rd victory in the UFC – tying the promotion’s record in the process – means that it’s hard not to consider him one of last night’s big winners.
Like the majority of his recent bouts, this fight saw Arlovski largely look to keep the fight standing, and while Collier caught him with more shots than the likes of Jared Vanderaa and Carlos Felipe were able to, ‘The Pitbull’ just about edged things in the eyes of the judges.
It wasn’t an exciting fight by any means, and in fact, it’s hard to really discuss it in too much detail due to the lack of really telling moments. Overall, it obviously won’t go down as one of Arlovski’s most memorable performances.
It’s hard not to respect any fighter who can pull off 23 wins in the world’s biggest MMA promotion, though, particularly one who’s been written off as many times as ‘The Pitbull’ has been. How much longer he can keep it up at the age of 43 is anyone’s guess, but Arlovski should definitely be considered a huge winner today.
#1. Marlon Vera – defeated Rob Font in a UFC bantamweight bout
Naturally, the biggest winner at last night’s event was Marlon Vera, who outpointed Rob Font in impressive fashion in the headline bout. Given that Font was ranked at No.5 in the bantamweight division prior to last night, it’s hard to imagine ‘Chito’ not surpassing him this week.
Essentially, Vera looked awesome throughout the five-round bout. Sure, he took more strikes than he dished out, but the power differential between him and Font was huge. When the fight was over, it was clear who’d come out on top.
Font’s face was a mess, looking like he’d been hit with a baseball bat, while Vera was somehow basically unmarked. In fact, the Ecuadorian looked like he could’ve easily fought another five rounds without a break.
Sure, ‘Chito’ didn’t pick up a finish, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying as he did knock Font down three times, after all. After this showing, it’s hard not to consider him a legitimate contender for the bantamweight title now.
Who should the Ecuadorian fight next? Thankfully, there are a number of great options, from Petr Yan to Cory Sandhagen, and basically any fight against one of the top fighters in the division would work now.
Either way, Vera is clearly a dangerous man at 135lbs, and fans should probably not count him out against anyone. Given his stunning rise, he was definitely last night’s biggest winner.
