After a hiatus for the Thanksgiving holiday inside the United States, the UFC is back in action for the next three Saturday nights, beginning this Saturday with UFC Vegas 44 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Barring any further adjustments to the card after Matt Brown was forced to withdraw in the run-up to the show amid his positive COVID-19 test last week, this event will feature 14 MMA fights all told, including the UFC Vegas 44 main event in the top 5 of the promotion’s bantamweight division.
In your UFC Vegas 44 main event on Saturday night, No. 4 contender Rob Font (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will battle No. 5 contender Jose Aldo (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC), a five-round fight at five minutes per round which serves as the latter’s 19th UFC promotional appearance to close the show.
UFC Vegas 44 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the UFC Vegas 44 main event on Saturday evening, Rob Font is the taller man at 5-foot-8, with Jose Aldo standing 5-foot-7.
In addition, Rob Font holds a 1 1/2-inch reach advantage (71 1/2 inches to 70 inches even) over Jose Aldo.
What Aldo lacks in reach, he makes up for in leg reach, owning a 1 1/2-inch advantage (40 inches to 38 1/2 inches) over Rob Font in said category.
Rob Font Hopes UFC Vegas 44 Main Event is a Springboard to Hometown Glory for Boston
Rob Font enters the UFC Vegas 44 main event having posted a record of 4-1 in his last five UFC appearances and is currently on a four-fight winning streak.
Last time out, he bested Cody Garbrandt (unanimous decision) in the UFC Vegas 27 main event back in May of this year.
A universal storyline for both the Font and Aldo camps is that a win in the UFC Vegas 44 main event this Saturday night puts their fighter one step closer to a potential fight for the UFC Bantamweight Championship against current titleholder Aljamain Sterling at some point down the road after Sterling and Petr Yan end their rivalry following the former’s recovery from neck surgery earlier this year.
For Rob Font, a win on Saturday would be a step forward to hometown glory for his fellow Bostonians.
In a recent interview posted to the UFC’s YouTube channel, Font noted that he took time out from training camp for Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 44 main event earlier this fall to attend a Boston Red Sox playoff game at legendary Fenway Park.
Although the Red Sox were eliminated by the Houston Astros in the ALCS this past year, Rob Font is hopeful that he can one day hoist the bantamweight strap and take it home to New England.
“We’re definitely in Titletown, we win everything,” Font said. “We’re just missing one thing, that’s a UFC belt. I plan on bringing that UFC belt back to Boston.”
Jose Aldo Has Sights Set On Dillashaw Fight If He Wins in UFC Vegas 44 Main Event
In the other corner, Jose Aldo enters the UFC Vegas 44 main event on Saturday night having gone 2-3 in his last five UFC bouts, including an ongoing two-fight winning streak.
Most recently, he defeated Pedro Munhoz (unanimous decision) during the UFC 265 co-main event back in August, but although his focus is on Rob Font, for now, Aldo has his sights set on his next marquee opponent: TJ Dillashaw.
During an episode of the Trocacao Franca podcast, Jose Aldo renewed his interest in fighting Dillashaw at some point in 2022.
“It might happen,” Aldo said. “The fact that Sterling is injured and we don’t know when he’s coming back, that [Dillashaw fight] could indeed happen in the future. Dillashaw and I, I don’t know if right now or in the future, we want this fight. It’s a great fight for both of us, the UFC and the fans, so we’d all agree.”
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the UFC Vegas 44 main event seems to favor Jose Aldo, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and in Luta Livre, compared to Rob Font’s brown belt in BJJ and white mongkol in Muay-Thai.
Watch for Rob Font’s Punches
In watching the videotape of Font’s fight against Marlon Moraes from last December, his punching prowess can end the fight in a hurry if the shots are on-point.
Late in the first round, Font scored with a vicious combination of punches, and after Moraes responded with a spinning kick, Font dropped him.
From there, Rob Font repeatedly unloaded on Marlon Moraes with ground and pound shots, finally stopping him with nasty elbow shots, forcing referee Marc Goddard to intervene and end the fight.
If Rob Font is able to throw punches here in the UFC Vegas 44 main event as he did last December against Marlon Moraes, his night against Jose Aldo looks to be a short one at the office.
Jose Aldo Can Punch His Way to a Win, Too
In the other corner, Jose Aldo can end the fight with vicious punches of his own, something that Renato Moicano found out the hard way almost three years ago in Fortaleza.
During the second round of a scheduled three, Aldo stunned Moicano with a left hook. forcing him to cover up, but it wasn’t enough for Moicano, who absorbed vicious body shots and a knee to the face, culminating with a flurry of headshots to end the fight via TKO.
If Aldo can score with the body shots, he can end the UFC Vegas 44 main event in a hurry.
Final Thoughts
Don’t be surprised if the UFC Vegas 44 main event on Saturday night turns into a boxing match.
Although this is going to be a bantamweight fight, it could follow the mantra of a heavyweight match in that one punch could very well end the contest.
In short, don’t blink during the UFC Vegas 44 main event, because you might miss something spectacular.
Prediction: Rob Font by Third-Round TKO.
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