Font vs Aldo – what you need to know

UFC is back at the APEX in Las Vegas this week as two top-5 bantamweight contenders face off for the headline event.

Headline that will deliver

Two exciting veterans of the bantamweight division clash, as Rob Font takes on José Aldo in this weekend’s headline fight.

Winning four in a row, Rob Font has climbed to no.4 ranked contender, his most recent victory was an impressive five-round triumph over Cody Garbrandt. He holds 19 career wins, 12 of those victories were finishes, eight coming in the first round. Font was a pizza delivery man in his home state of New England before going professional in MMA.

José Aldo is a former featherweight champion, a title he won back in 2010 and retained for seven consecutive title fights, before winning it again in 2016. Since dropping to bantamweight he has had only one title fight, which he missed out on, losing by fifth-round KO to Petr Yan last year. He has 17 career knockouts and 6 post-fight awards, four fight of the night and two performance awards. Aldo was a promising youth footballer, but he opted to commit to MMA as a career instead.

Quaking co main

Two lightweights, who both signed with the UFC in 2019, face off in the co main, as Brad ‘Quake’ Riddell clashes with Rafael ‘Ataman’ Fiziev.

Riding a seven-bout win streak, including his first four UFC bouts, Brad Riddell is on fire. Quake has secured two fight of the night bonuses in the UFC, including his win in June over Drew Dober. After studying at university in New Zealand for six months, Riddell decided to change path and follow a degree in MMA instead, moving to Thailand to acquire the qualification.

Rafael Fiziev is a former policeman, who turned pro in MMA in 2015. Like Riddell, he holds a 10-1 record. Ataman holds three UFC post fight bonuses, including a performance bonus for his first-round knockout of Renato Moicano in December last year.

Strawweight royalty

These two strawweights signed for the UFC following impressive displays on Dana White’s Contender Series, and this weekend we see them battle it out as Cheyanne ‘The Warrior Princess’ Vlismas and Mallory Martin go head-to-head.

Fighting for the third time this year, Cheyanne Vlismas will be hoping to replicate her previous fight, when she knocked out Gloria de Paul after only 60 seconds. Vlismas has won five of her last six, holding a 6-2 career record. She also holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Mallory Martin has won six of her last eight and holds a 7-4 career record. Her only UFC victory so far saw her receive a performance of the night bonus, as she secured a second-round submission over Hannah Cifers in August last year. Martin decided to become a professional fighter after watching UFC on TV.