Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Vegas 53 has its main event.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed Wednesday (March 9, 2022) that the promotion is finalizing a top-ranked bantamweight contenders bout between Rob Font and Marlon “Chito” Vera. The fight will headline the Apr. 30 event at the UFC APEX facility.
For the Leominster, Mass. native in Font, the bout will be his third straight fight with the main event spotlight. Font last took on former UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo in a losing effort that snapped an impressive four-fight winning streak.
Vera’s last loss also came against the legendary Aldo in Dec. 2020. The No. 8-ranked 135-pound contender has since gotten back on track with back-to-back victories over Davey Grant and most recently, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. At UFC 268 in November, Vera rallied late to land a devastating front kick to score the third-round knockout.
With the addition of the main event, UFC Vegas 53 now has 11 total bouts with Font vs. Vera as the only bantamweight fight at present. The current lineup can be seen below.
- Bantamweight – 135lbs: Rob Font vs. Chito Vera
- Flyweight – 125lbs: Gina Mazany vs. Shanna Young
- Flyweight: Daniel da Silva vs. Francisco Figueiredo
- Flyweight: Antonina Shevchenko vs. Cortney Casey
- Lightweight – 155lbs: Mike Breeden vs. Natan Levy
- Welterweight – 170lbs: Yohan Lainesse vs. Gabriel Green
- Strawweight – 115lbs: Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro
- Flyweight: Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Candelario
- Featherweight – 145lbs: Darren Elkins vs. Tristan Connelly
- Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Justin Tafa vs. Jake Collier
- Middleweight – 185lbs: Krzysztof Jotko vs. Gerald Meerschaert