5 Defining Moments: Rob Font

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Rob Font can cement his reputation as a primetime player by clearing his latest hurdle.

The New England Cartel representative will lock horns with former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight titleholder Cody Garbrandt in the UFC Fight Night 188 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Font, 33, owns an 8-3 record inside the Octagon and enters his latest assignment with the wind of a three-fight winning streak in his sails. He has delivered 12 of his 18 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

As Font prepares for his five-round confrontation with Garbrandt, a look at five of the moments that have come to define him:

1. Front of the Line

Font laid claim to the CES MMA featherweight championship when he wiped out Chris Foster with punches in the first round of their CES MMA 18 “Gold Rush” main event on Aug. 9, 2013 at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Foster succumbed to blows 4:01 into Round 1. Font set the tone with a front kick to the face inside the first 10 seconds, chipped away with his jab and toyed with other weapons. Outside of a few jabs, he managed to evade return fire. Font denied an attempted takedown, circled out into open space and delivered a right uppercut-left hook combination that started his opponent’s downward spiral. The Team Sityodtong product then cut loose with knees, punches and elbows, one of which dropped Foster to a knee. From there, Font let his hands fly until referee Kevin MacDonald had seen enough.

2. Opening Statement

The Mark DellaGrotte protege made a statement in his organizational debut and knocked out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 semifinalist George Roop with a searing right hand in the first round of their bantamweight battle on the UFC 175 undercard on July 5, 2014 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Font drew the curtain 2:19 into Round 1. Roop lured the Octagon rookie into the clinch and pecked away with punches to the head and kicks to the legs. Font fired his right hand through the Arizonan’s guard a little less than mideway through the first period and folded him where he stood. He then pounced for the finish, forcing referee Chris Tognoni to intervene on Roop’s behalf.

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3. Stonewalled

John Lineker utilized sweeping punches to the head and body, brutal leg kicks and overwhelming pressure in claiming a unanimous decision from Font in their UFC 198 prelim on May 14, 2016 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. All three cageside judges saw it for Lineker: 30-27, 29-28 and 30-26. Font entered the cage on an 11-fight winning streak but was not yet ready for such a significant jump in competition. Lineker uncorked winging punches upstairs while successfully targeting the body and legs. Before long, Font was in survival mode, either unwilling or unable to let his hands go. Needing a finish entering the third round, the promising Team Sityodtong export instead found himself in front of an even more aggressive Lineker. The aptly named “Hands of Stone” was relentless in the closing minutes, forcing Font to retreat to his back on more than one occasion. He found no refuge there, as Lineker met him with short punches, elbows and clubbing hammerfists.

4. Practical Choke

American Top Team’s Pedro Munhoz submitted Font with a guillotine choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 119 bantamweight showcase on Oct. 28, 2017 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Font, who had never before been finished, conceded defeat 4:03 into Round 1, the defeat closing the book on his modest two-fight winning streak. The two bantamweights exchanged on the feet from the start, Munhoz targeting the lower leg with kicks while Font responded with a stabbing jab and crisp punching combinations. Late in the first round, Munhoz rang the New England Cartel rep’s bell with a left hook. A dazed and desperate Font shot for an ill-advised takedown and was met with a sprawl, his situation growing worse by the second. Munhoz then locked in a one-arm guillotine choke, rolled to mount and posted his left hand on the canvas to maximize his squeeze. The tapout came quickly.

5. No Refuge

The onetime CES MMA titleholder cut down American Top Team’s Marlon Moraes with punches in the first round of their hotly anticipated UFC Fight Night 183 bantamweight feature on Dec. 19, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Font drew the curtain 3:47 into Round 1. Moraes surprised the New England Cartel founder with two early takedowns and an attempted guillotine choke, but the former World Series of Fighting champion failed to consolidate his efforts with positional control or ground-and-pound. Back on his feet, Font went to work. A stiff jab drove Moraes backward, and a right uppercut marked the beginning of the end. The Brazilian staggered and collapsed, at which point he was met with a hellacious barrage of punches and hammerfists. Referee Marc Goddard gave Moraes every chance to recover, but Font offered no such refuge.