Bantamweights
Rob Font (15-4) vs. Sergio Pettis (17-4)ODDS: Font (-165), Pettis (+145)
After his loss to Jussier da Silva in October, Pettis immediately announced he was moving back to bantamweight. At the time, it seemed like an odd move, but shortly thereafter, the future of the UFC’s flyweight division was cast into doubt, so maybe Pettis knew something everyone else did not. Pettis’ run up the flyweight ranks was a nice story, given that there was a time when he looked like a bust. Thanks to being the younger brother of Anthony Pettis, who at the time was the UFC’s lightweight champ, he came into the UFC with a ton of hype as a two-division regional champion in his own right. However, Pettis’ first few UFC fights were met with disappointment. He was nowhere near as flashy as his brother, and losses to Alex Caceres and Ryan Benoit were big upsets -- particularly the latter -- that let people easily jump off the bandwagon. Over the last few years, a funny dynamic has played out. Anthony’s flash-over-fundamental style has hit the point of diminishing returns, while Sergio’s meat-and-potatoes striking style finally clicked to where he has enjoyed significant success. Pettis will probably have some trouble getting over the hump, whether at flyweight or at bantamweight, since “Formiga” and Henry Cejudo exposed his poor defensive wrestling, but he has rounded into nice form. He gets to play hometown hero in front of the Milwaukee faithful here, even if Font represents a surprisingly tough ask for Pettis’ first bout back at 135 pounds.
It took a while due to injuries, but Boston’s Font is finally settling in right below the bantamweight elite. Watching Font take on most of the bantamweight division is an absolute delight, as he is a power puncher with strong technique and finishing instinct. Plus, he has enough submission skill to handle himself if the fight heads in that direction. However, Font is also a bit of a frontrunner. He does not implode, but when matched with other pressure fighters like John Lineker or Pedro Munhoz, Font is usually the one who blinks first and cedes pressure, at which point everything starts to fall apart. It is a frustrating habit, but at the same time, it is also something that pops up when Font is facing top-shelf opposition. Most of the time, Font is still a fun watch and also one of the more underrated fighters on the roster.
Pettis is probably the cleaner striker, but it is unclear what good that is going to do him here, unless the speed of his punches suddenly allows some knockout power to manifest itself. Nothing about Pettis’ game should scare off Font, and if that is the case, this is probably three rounds of the Team Sityodtong standout pressuring Pettis, hitting the harder shots and maybe even doing some damage by taking this fight to the mat. Perhaps Pettis is quick enough to stick, move and force Font to chase him, but that does not seem like a safe bet. The pick is Font by a fairly one-sided decision.
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