Rob Font almost unrecognisable after five-round beating from Marlon Vera at UFC Vegas 53
UFC bantamweight Rob Font suffered nasty facial injuries during his main event match-up against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera on Saturday night.
The long-time contender was competitive throughout his 25-minute fight with Vera but one quick glance at both fighters' faces tells you who had a rougher night at the APEX in Las Vegas.
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At the end of the bout, Font was battered, cut, bruised and his eyes seemed to be swollen shut. Meanwhile, Vera appeared to have more blood on his hands than his face after five rounds of fighting.
Font started well at UFC Vegas 53 and landed a near-record number of significant strikes for a UFC bantamweight fight throughout the bout but ultimately the fight started to turn against him in the later rounds.
In the third frame, Vera landed a flying knee that wobbled Font, who fell to the floor after a couple of seconds. The Ecuadorian swarmed for the finish but was unable to force a stoppage from referee Jason Herzog before the horn sounded to end a pulsating five minutes of action.
Font hit the floor again in the fourth round when Vera landed a kick to the face. Once again, his reaction was delayed but the 34-year-old fell to the mat and this time there was plenty of time left on the clock.
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The American consistently landed more shots but it was obvious who was winning the fight as Vera landed the heavier blows and even began to dance and showboat as the fight progressed.
Font and Vera were competitive in the final round, but it seemed like ‘Chito’ stole it in the final seconds when he landed another head kick that badly wobbled his opponent.
Ultimately, Vera walked away with a unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46 49-46) win that will propel him into the bantamweight top five and perhaps place him just one fight away from a shot at UFC gold.
The 28-year-old walked away with an extra $100,000 in bonus money after his Fight of the Night. As Font missed weight in the build-up to their fight, he was not eligible for the bonus and Vera instead walked away with double money.
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