UFC Vegas 53: Font vs Vera has the tough task this Saturday, April 30, of following up last week’s wild Fight Night while also preceding UFC 274: Oliveira vs Gaethje next weekend in Phoenix. Headlining the night are a pair of bantamweight contenders in No.5 Rob Font opposite No.8 Marlon “Chito” Vera. Together, they’ll put the cap on a night that currently features 12 contests. The athletes will all take to the weigh-in scales on Friday at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas ahead of Saturday’s event. Check out our preview below of the headline bout before you watch UFC Vegas 53: Font vs Vera.
Watch UFC Vegas 53: Font vs Vera
- When: Saturday, April 30, 2022
- Prelims Start Time: 4:30 p.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. PST
- Main Card Start Time: 7 p.m. EST / 4 p.m. PST
- Location: UFC APEX – Las Vegas, Nevada
- How to Watch: ESPN, ESPN+
One of the main changes to the UFC Vegas 53 Fight Night card is the removal of the scheduled bout between women’s flyweights Cortney “Cast-Iron” Casey and Antonina “La Pantera” Shevchenko. On April 14th, the sister of the women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Schevchenko, Antonina hurt her knee in training. Casey told All Access MMA she was looking forward to the bout, especially with the attention Schevchenko’s last name would have brought to the promotion.
The cancellation has opened the door for the heavyweight fight between Alexandr Romanov and Chase Sherman that was originally on last week’s card. It was pulled hours before their gloves would have touched for “an abundance of caution due to a minor health issue with Sherman.” Sherman had accepted the fight and a new contract with the UFC just days before the event.
Main Event Preview: Font vs Vera
The higher ranked fighter, Font (19-5-0) enters his contest with Vera (18-7-1) coming off of a loss in December to Jose Aldo. That snapped a four-fight winning streak for Font who was regaining momentum since his hot start in the UFC. A quick finisher early in his career with his first five victories coming before the final bell. Font has struggled to show the same power as he’s climbed the ladder in the division. Five of his last six fights have gone the distance, a stretch in which he is 4-2. Still, being fifth in line for the title shot, Font is worthy of a main event designation, of which his contest with Vera is his third consecutive.
A bantamweight blockbuster headlines our 100th @ESPN fight night 🍿@RobSFont vs @ChitoVeraUFC goes down Saturday!
[ #UFCVegas53 | Saturday | LIVE on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/FCu3uHrrZp
— UFC (@ufc) April 25, 2022
For Vera, the objective is to keep advancing through the division. Since suffering a loss of his own to Aldo back in 2020, Vera has won two straight, both in convincing fashion. A grappler, he’ll look to control the fight by taking Font, a striker, to the ground early and often. Still, he matches well power for power too, with seven of his career victories coming by TKO compared to eight by submission. Defensively, Font is vulnerable to both significant strikes and takedowns, giving Vera the flexibility to choose how he wants to control the fight.
At the betting window, the fight between Font and Vera is nearly a toss-up, with Font slightly favored at -125. At +165 for Font to win by decision, there’s good value on Vera to pull the upset. Vera getting the decision is the favored finish for him to be victorious at +275, but +700 for a win by submission is intriguing. If it were to hit, it would be Vera’s first win by submission since 2019.
Font vs Vegas Fight Card / Odds
Main Card
- #5 Rob Font (-125) vs #8 Marlon Vera (+105) – Bantamweight
- Andrei Arlovski (-140) vs Jake Collier (+120) – Heavyweight
- Andre Fili (-260) vs Joanderson Brito (+210) – Featherweight
- Jared Gordon (+155) vs Grant Dawson (-180) – Lightweight
- Darren Elkins (-165) vs Tristan Connelly (+145) – Featherweight
- Krzysztof Jotko (-165) vs Gerald Meershaert (+145) – Middleweight
Preliminary Card
- Daniel Lacerda (-130) vs Francisco Figueiredo (+110) – Flyweight
- Alexandr Romanov (-2200) vs Chase Sherman (+1100) – Heavyweight
- Gabriel Green (-135) vs Yohan Lainesse (+115) – Welterweight
- Natan Levy (-195) vs Mike Breeden (+165) – Lightweight
- Gina Mazany (-170) vs Shanna Young (+150) – Women’s Flyweight
- Tatsuro Taira (-235) vs Carlos Candelario (+190) – Flyweight
