Expect a high-volume striking battle between Font and Aldo
The UFC is coming off a week off following a mostly forgettable UFC Vegas 43 fight card. A fight that is head and shoulders above the other 14 fights on the card, headlines this week’s UFC Vegas 44. That fight is a bantamweight matchup between Rob Font, who is the No. 4 ranked fighter in the official UFC 135-pound rankings and former featherweight champ, Jose Aldo, who has found new life at bantamweight, where he is currently the No. 5 ranked competitor.
Font, a former CES featherweight champ, joined the UFC in 2014 as a bantamweight. Since then the 34-year-old has made a slow and steady climb up the 135-pound rankings. Currently on a four-fight winning streak, Font is coming off a TKO win over former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes and a decision victory over ex-champ Cody Garbrandt.
Aldo, who had a lengthy run as the WEC and UFC featherweight champ, made his bantamweight debut in December 2019. Despite losing that contest to Moraes via split decision, Aldo next faced Petr Yan for the vacant 135-pound crown. Yan won that scrap via TKO. The 35-year-old bounced back from that setback with decision wins over Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz.
I expect this to be a high volume striking battle. Font’s five-round battle with Garbrandt landed the victorious fighter in the bantamweight record book in several striking categories. His 176 significant strikes landed rank him third all-time in a UFC bantamweight scrap and his 365 attempted significant strikes are fifth most in UFC 135-pound history. Font’s efforts also put him in the top-5 for a single bantamweight fight for distance strikes landed (168), and significant head strikes landed (145).
Aldo is coming off a three-round performance where he landed 114 of 223 significant strikes.
UFC Vegas 44 takes place Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. ESPN+ carries the main card at 10 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Below is a look at how Font and Aldo match up in key stats ahead of their fight, which is scheduled for five rounds.