5 incredible UFC fights to look forward to before the end of 2021

#4. Jose Aldo vs. Rob Font - UFC bantamweight

Rob Font will look for the biggest win of his UFC career when he takes on Jose Aldo next month

December 4's UFC Fight Night event is set to be headlined by a crucial fight in the bantamweight division, featuring a UFC legend in the form of Jose Aldo taking on one of the more underrated fighters in the promotion, Rob Font.

Many observers would try to claim that Aldo is on the downswing of his career, but that may not be true at all based on the evidence we’ve seen recently. Sure, the former UFC featherweight kingpin suffered three straight losses between 2019 and 2020. One, however, against Marlon Moraes featured some bogus judging, while there was no shame in losing to Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan.

Aldo is currently on a two-fight winning streak, impressing greatly in his wins over Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz. Those triumphs suggested he could still prove to be a force at 135 pounds.

Font, meanwhile, is coming off the biggest win of his UFC career over a former champion in Cody Garbrandt. He’s now won his last four fights, including a TKO of Moraes in December 2020.

Like the fight between Holloway and Rodriguez, this one should be a striking fans’ dream match, but the dynamics here are very different. The big question is exactly how Aldo will deal with the rangy style of Font, who is taller and will enjoy a reach advantage.

Either way, this fight should either see a legend continue his climb back up the ladder, or one of the better prospects in the UFC will continue his own rise to the top. It’s definitely a fight not to be missed.

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#3. Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus - UFC heavyweight

Chris Daukaus could establish himself as a genuine heavyweight contender in his fight with Derrick Lewis

The UFC’s final show of 2021 takes place on December 18, a week before Christmas. While this show, at the time of writing, isn’t stacked with big names, the planned headline bout at least sounds intriguing.

The fight takes place in the heavyweight division and features former UFC title challenger Derrick Lewis taking on one of the weight class’s fastest-rising stars Chris Daukaus.

Since making his UFC debut last summer, Daukaus has already reeled off four wins inside the octagon. More importantly, none of them have gone the distance. The native of Philadelphia hasn’t been beating up on nobodies, either, with two of his victories coming over Aleksei Oleinik and Shamil Abdurakhimov.

However, Lewis is a different animal entirely. ‘The Black Beast’ was admittedly outclassed by Ciryl Gane in their interim title fight at UFC 265, but prior to that he was on a four-fight winning streak. Lewis also holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history with 12, making him a uniquely dangerous opponent.

Essentially, with the records of both of these fighters considered, it seems highly likely that we’ll see someone rendered unconscious in this fight. If it’s Lewis, then we’ll have a brand new contender for the UFC heavyweight title in the form of Daukaus.