Stylistically, Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera had potential to be something special the moment the fight was announced. Both men are tough opponents for any of the top Bantamweights in the UFC, so to pair Font and Vera was smart matchmaking by the company.
All fight week, excitement for this one was rising. Then, one day out from the fight, a little damper was put on things when Rob Font stepped on the scale, missing weight at 138.5 pounds. Suddenly, the narrative shifted. Font was not just looking to bounce back from a loss to Jose Aldo, but was looking for redemption. Still, even with the missed weight, the fight looked to entertain as both men were jockeying for position and looking to move closer to the top five — and from there, the title.
UFC Vegas 53 was a special moment for Marlon “Chito” Vera, as he become the first Ecuadorian fighter to headline a UFC event. His long road to this point had been built on hard work and his grit. Vera is a tough, violent fighter and he wanted to show that no one, not even Rob Font would get in his way of achieving dreams of continuing on the path to being a champion one day.
Rob Font is used to the five-round main events and his conditioning is top notch, as he has historically put on many close exciting fights in the UFC. For Vera, Saturday marked his first five-round affair. He proved up to the task.
Both men showed up for one of the most exciting main events of the year so far. Rob Font showed ample heart and at times connected with an unbelievable quantity of strikes. As the fight went on, however, his face began to show the damage as Chito Vera began to unleash hell in the later rounds. Vera managed to drop Font in three consecutive rounds; it was very surprising that the fight went the distance, but after five rounds it was in the hands of the judges. Marlon Vera got the unanimous decision victory, a well-earned one at that.
PROS GIVE THEIR TAKE
Here is how the pros reacted to Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera.
Was cornering some teammates in Wichita so I missed most of the fights but golly the violence in this main event 😳🔥 #UFCVegas53
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) May 1, 2022
This fight is great so far ! #UFCVegas53
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) May 1, 2022
I'm worried about Font! Damn #ufc
— Truck Gordon (@TruckMMA_UFC) May 1, 2022
Chito Vera is a Problem with a capital P! I got my eye on you 👀 @chitoveraUFC 🇪🇨
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 1, 2022
Chito continues to get better . Amazing start ! #UFCVegas53
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) May 1, 2022
WHAT A FIGHT!!!🔥👏🏼👏🏼
#UFCVegas53— Diana Belbiță (@DianaBelbita) May 1, 2022
This division is Funking GOOD!! #UFCVegas53
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 1, 2022
Chitos nasty!!! Beast mode #UFCVegas53
— Niko Price (@Nikohybridprice) May 1, 2022
This fight is insane. How does Chito show zero damage!? #UFCVegas53
— Vince Morales (@vandetta135) May 1, 2022
Got him hurt so many times and didn’t capitalize quick enough. Chito looked great but 100% could’ve got him out of there #UFCVegas53
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) May 1, 2022
Chito is a monster #UFCVegas53
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) May 1, 2022
How do you score this fight?!
Frequency/output vs damage. #UFCVegas53— Joshua Culibao (@culibaomma) May 1, 2022
@RobSFont vs @chitoveraUFC is 🔥 right now #UFCvegas @ufc
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) May 1, 2022
What a scrapppppp #UFCVegas53
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) May 1, 2022
Man Vera is beyond durable! But Font’s boxing is excellent #UFCFightNight53
— Andre Ewell (@daii24_dre) May 1, 2022
Great scrap between the two warriors!!! RESPECT @ufc #UFCVegas53
— Charles Rosa (@CharlesRosaMMA) May 1, 2022
Man chito vs sandhagen would be amazing
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) May 1, 2022
I ain’t gonna lie… I love watching @RobSFont #UFCVegas53 👊🏿👊🏿
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) May 1, 2022
Wow 🤩 @chitoveraUFC is putting a show ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) May 1, 2022
