UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera - Main card results and highlights

UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera is on the books after another action-packed night at the UFC Apex Facility on Saturday, April 30.

The main event saw an all-important bantamweight showdown between divisional standouts Rob Font and Marlon 'Chito' Vera. Meanwhile, Andrei Arlovski battled Jack Collier in the co-main event.

The main card also saw Andre Fili and Joanderson Brito locking horns in the featherweight division. Prospects Jared Gordon and Grant Dawson also had a barnburner in the 155-pound weight class.

Meanwhile, veterans Darren Elkins and Gerald Meerschaert returned to action against younger opponents in Tristan Connelly and Krzysztof Jotko.

UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera main card results

Grant Dawson def. Jared Gordon via submission [rear-naked choke] - (4:11 of Round 3)

Darren Elkins def. Tristan Connelly via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Krzysztof Jotko def. Gerald Meerschaert via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera highlights

It all came down to quantity vs. quality of strikes in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera. Rob Font had his opponent beat in terms of volume, but 'Chito' clearly inflicted more damage. All three judges ultimately awarded the nod to Vera, who came close to finishing Font thrice in the span of the 25-minute battle.

Font clearly owned the first two rounds when he consistently connected with crisp jabs and straights. However, Vera increased his output in the later rounds and rendered his opponent unrecognizable by the end of the bout.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski kept his winning streak alive against Jake Collier in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera. The Belarusian battled through an ugly back-and-forth to edge his opponent via split decision.

Brazil's Joanderson Brito scored a massive upset against featherweight veteran Andre Fili. Coming into the fight as the biggest underdog on the main card, Brito snapped Fili's head back with a powerful jab before connecting with a huge right hand that dropped his opponent.

Brito wasted no time looking for the finish as he pummelled the downed Fili, until referee Herb Dean had no choice but to intervene. It only took Brito 40 seconds to get the job done.

Grant Dawson put on a stellar showcase of his skills against Jared Gordon. It was a grappling-heavy performance for the Nebraskan, who landed a takedown in each round. In the dying seconds of the fight, Dawson was able to dig deep to finish Gordon off with a rear-naked choke.

Darren Elkins proved he still has plenty left in the tank with his unanimous decision victory over Tristan Connelly. 'The Damage' brought his trademark relentlessness on the feet and mixed it up with tremendous grappling to completely outwork his opponent. He earned the nod on all of the judges' scorecards after three rounds.

In the main card curtain jerker, Krzysztof Jotko relied on his boxing early to gain the upper hand over Gerald Meerschaert. The Polish fighter landed at will as he continuously baited his opponent to come in, only to connect with his counter shots. Jotko ultimately took home a unanimous decision win.

About the author

Writing out of the red corner from the Philippines, Rafael has been entrenched in the world of mixed martial arts for the past five years.

He kickstarted his journalistic career with Rappler.com and had continued covering the world's most violent sport for the newspaper Manila Bulletin. He joined Sportskeeda MMA in 2021 and has garnered over 9 million reads.

The combat journalist is also a television sports reporter for the Manila-based network PTV 4.

In his spare time, Rafael trains in boxing and has sparred with MMA pros Rabin Catalan and John Tirona (he obviously got obliterated).

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