Bantamweights Rob Font and Marlon Vera headline Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event.
Set from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the main card airs live on ESPN with prelims streaming on ESPN+ and ESPN2.
Along with Font and Vera meeting in a battle of Top-10 ranked fighters, Andrei Arlovski takes on Jake Collier in the heavyweight division.
Exciting striker Font (19-5, fighting out of Woburn, Mass.) entered the bantamweight Top 5 with a three-year undefeated run beginning in 2018. During this time, he secured exciting wins against former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes and Sergio Pettis. Font now aims to defend his spot in the rankings by becoming the first fighter to finish Vera.
Diverse finisher Vera (18-7-1, fighting out of Chone, Manabí, Ecuador) looks to continue his ascent up the 135-pound ladder with another show-stealing performance. Throughout his UFC run, he has earned memorable victories over former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, Davey Grant and Sean O’Malley. Vera now intends to stop Font to crack the division’s Top 5 for the first time in his career.
Arlovski (33-20 2NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) looks to extend his record for most wins in UFC heavyweight history to 23. A seasoned MMA veteran, he holds notable victories against former titleholders Fabricio Werdum, Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia. Arlovski now has his sights set on dispatching another rising heavyweight to earn a shot at a Top 15 ranked contender.
Collier (13-6, fighting out of Cuba, Mo.) hopes to further cement his heavyweight run by taking out his first former champion. A former UFC middleweight, he has delivered impressive wins over Chase Sherman, Gian Villante and Marcel Fortuna. Collier is now gunning for another finish at heavyweight by delivering a highlight-reel performance.
Additional bouts on the card include
- Andre Fili (21-8 1NC, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) squares off with Joanderson Brito (12-3-1, fighting out of Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil) at featherweight
- Jared Gordon (18-4, fighting out of Queens, N.Y.) meets Grant Dawson (17-1-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.) in an intriguing lightweight bout
- Perennial fan favorite Darren Elkins (27-10, fighting out of Portage, Ind.) battles Tristan Connelly (14-7, fighting out of Vancouver, B.C., Canada) at featherweight
- Krzysztof Jotko (23-5, fighting out of Orneta, Poland) takes on Gerald Meerschaert (34-14, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) in a clash of middleweight veterans
- Daniel Lacerda (11-2, fighting out of Valença, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) faces Francisco Figueiredo (12-4-1 1NC, fighting out of Soure, Para, Brazil) at flyweight
- Gabe Green (10-3, fighting out of San Pedro, Calif.) meets unbeaten Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner Yohan Lainesse (8-0, fighting out of Saint-Bruno, Quebec, Canada) in a welterweight bout
- Natan Levy (6-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Herzliya, Israel) and Mike Breeden (10-4, fighting Lee’s Summit, Mo.) each vie for their first UFC victory in a lightweight bout
- Gina Mazany (7-5, fighting out of Kansas City, Mo.) takes on Shanna Young (8-5, fighting out of Knoxville, Tenn.) at flyweight
- Undefeated flyweight Tatsuro Taira (10-0, fighting out of Naha, Okinawa, Japan) debuts against Dana White’s Contender Series signee Carlos Candelario (8-1, fighting out of Hartford, Conn.)
