Rob Font vs. Sergio Pettis at UFC Milwaukee is a fight years in the making, and Font, for one, is thrilled it’s finally happening.
Milwaukee, WI — Rob Font is more than happy to welcome Sergio Pettis back to the bantamweight division. That’s the job he has been tasked with at UFC on FOX 31, more commonly UFC Milwaukee. It’s the final show on FOX for the UFC, which jumps to ESPN in 2019. It’s also a card that will go down in Pettis’ own back yard. Roufusport, where the Pettis brothers train, is a Milwaukee institution.
Pettis is also a fighter Font called out years ago. For various reasons, mainly Pettis dropping to flyweight, the fight never materialized. His reaction to finally getting the bout? He told reporters including Cageside Press at Thursday’s UFC Milwaukee media day that it was pretty much “F*ck yes. Thank you, man. Perfect.”
“I actually wanted this fight after my debut,” he admitted. “I wanted it after that one, obviously he moved down, so it didn’t work out. But obviously he moved up; I was more than [happy to] welcome him back to the bantamweight division.”
There’s no particular reason why, outside of timing and career arc. “He was up-and-coming at the same time I was up-and-coming on the local scene,” Font explained. “I believe he made his debut first, then I came after that. Just a fun fight, fun styles, definitely think he’s a good, great match-up.”
While Font thought for a while that the bout might never happen, he saw Duke Roufus post something on Instagram saying he wanted Pettis to move back to 135lbs for the Milwaukee card. “A million people sent that to me, then I sent it to my manager.” Soon enough, he had the contract.
He’s more excited than usual for the bout, after chasing it for so long. That said, there’s no bad blood. “I don’t have anything against him or anything like that. It’s a great fight, I know his style well. I used to train with a lot with a lot of Muay Thai/Taekwondo guys. I know that style, and yeah man, it’s going to be a great fight.”
One that has potential to pick up a bonus when all is said and done. “I want to go in there and steal the show,” said Font. “I think the fans are going to appreciate the performance we put on.” Of course, he knows he’ll be in hostile territory. “Definitely they’re going to be booing and all that,” he noted, “but that doesn’t play a factor once you’re going.”
Rob Font and Sergio Pettis get going at UFC Milwaukee (UFC on FOX 31) this Saturday, December 15 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Don’t miss the full media day press scrum with Font above!
