UFC Fight Night: Font vs Garbrandt will air on May 22, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
RAFAEL “THE TURN” ALVES (19-9-0) vs DAMIR ISMAGULOV (19-1-0)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Alves brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Ismagulov brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both are well-rounded; Ismagulov is better with his pacing. He will conserve his energy better while Alves will grow tired as the fight progresses. He will then bring Alves to the ground and maintain top control while Alves tries to get back to his feet. Ismagulov will keep him on the ground until the end. My prediction: Ismagulov wins via unanimous decision.
YANCY MEDEIROS (15-7-0, 1 NC) vs DAMIR “THE BOSNIAN BOMBER” HADZOVIC (13-6-0)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Medeiros brings boxing, karate, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Hadzovic brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Medeiros will look to try and keep his distance. Hadzovic will charge him and keep pressure on him. He will use his boxing to lay hurt on Medeiros. Medeiros will try to defend, but he won’t be able to withstand Hadzovic’s power and aggression. My prediction: Hadzovic wins via TKO in Round 1.
JOSHUA CULIBAO (8-1-1) vs YILAN “WOLVERINE” SHA (19-6-0)
This is a three-round fight in the featherweight division. Culibao brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Sha brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both are just about identical with techniques; Culibao is more athletic. He will be faster and show better pacing. Sha will keep up with him for the first half of the fight. He will then begin to slow down as the fight progresses. Culibao will maintain his pacing and continue to score critical points. My prediction: Culibao wins via unanimous decision.
BRUNO “BULLDOG” SILVA (11-5-2, 1 NC) vs VICTOR “VICIOUS” RODRIGUEZ (7-3-0)
This is a three-round fight in the flyweight division. Silva brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Rodriguez brings striking and grappling. Silva looks to use his jiu-jitsu to take advantage of Rodriguez early in the fight. Rodriguez will manage to keep the fight standing and throw heavy blows at Silva. Silva will try to defend, but Rodriguez’s aggression will be too much for him to handle. My prediction: Rodriguez wins via unanimous decision.
COURT “THE CRUSHER” MCGEE (19-10-0) vs CLAUDIO “HANNIBAL” SILVA (14-2-0)
This is a three-round fight in the welterweight division. McGee brings karate, kajukenbo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Silva brings striking and jiu-jitsu. McGee’s experience looks to be enough for him to take Silva out. However, Silva is tough and will be able to withstand all of McGee’s attacks. He will then find an opening and bring McGee to the ground where he will dominate him. My prediction: Silva wins via unanimous decision.
BEN “BIG BEN” ROTHWELL (38-13-0) vs CHRIS “BEAST BOY” BARNETT (21-6-0)
This is a three-round fight in the heavyweight division. Rothwell brings boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Barnett brings striking and grappling. Rothwell’s experience and techniques look to be more than enough to take control of Barnett. Barnett will be able to stand against Rothwell and throw some heavy hands. Rothwell will withstand Barnett’s attacks, but he will begin to slow down faster. Barnett will keep himself at a decent pace while keeping Rothwell under his control. My prediction: Barnett wins via unanimous decision.
RICARDO “CARCACINHA” RAMOS (14-3-0) vs BILL “SENOR PERFECTO” ALGEO (14-5-0)
This is a three-round fight in the bantamweight division. Ramos brings Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Algeo brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both are great with grappling; Ramos is a better striker. His Muay Thai will be almost impossible for Algeo to compete with. Algeo will try to go for a takedown, but will only end up eating heavy blows from Ramos. Ramos will attack Algeo until Algeo can no longer go on. My prediction: Ramos wins via knockout in Round 1.
Main Card (ESPN+)
#7 JACK “THE JOKER” HERMANSSON (21-6-0) vs #10 EDMEN “THE GOLDEN BOY” SHAHBAZYAN (11-1-0)
This is a three-round fight in the middleweight division. Hermansson brings boxing, kickboxing, and wrestling. Shahbazyan brings boxing and karate. Hermansson looks to give Shahbazyan a good beating with his boxing and kickboxing. Not to mention Shahbazyan is not much of a grappler. However, Shahbazyan is tough and will be able to withstand Hermansson’s power. He will not let Hermansson take advantage of the fight in any way. Instead, Shahbazyan will attack Hermansson with great force until Hermansson goes down. My prediction: Shahbazyan wins via knockout in Round 1.
#11 DAVID “KILL KHROUST” DVORAK (19-3-0) vs #12 RAULIAN PAIVA (20-3-0)
This is a three-round fight in the flyweight division. Dvorak brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Paiva brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both are well-rounded, Dvorak is much more athletic. He has more power and will be able to avoid more of Paiva’s attacks. Paiva will try to look for a takedown, but Dvorak will manage to keep the fight standing. He will continue to throw heavy blows at Paiva until the very end. My prediction: Dvorak wins via unanimous decision.
FELICIA “FEENOM” SPENCER (8-2-0) vs NORMA “IMORTAL” DUMONT (5-1-0)
This is a three-round fight in the women’s featherweight division. Spencer brings kickboxing, taekwondo, and jiu-jitsu. Dumont brings striking, Sanda, and jiu-jitsu. Spencer is tough and holds great ground-and-pound. Dumont looks to be in trouble, but she has a great defense. She will not let Spencer bring her to the ground so easily. She will use her striking to hit Spencer hard and keep her under pressure. Spencer will begin to grow tired and end up eating more than she can chew. My prediction: Dumont wins via TKO in Round 3.
JUSTIN TAFA (4-2-0) vs JARED “THE MOUNTAIN” VANDERAA (11-5-0)
This is a three-round fight in the heavyweight division. Tafa brings boxing and jiu-jitsu. Vanderaa brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Vanderaa looks to bring Tafa to the ground and make quick work of him by the use of his jiu-jitsu. Tafa will not make that possible. Tafa will use his boxing to cause damage to Vanderaa right away. Vanderaa will not be able to land a perfect takedown and end up getting hit hard by Tafa. My prediction: Tafa wins via knockout in Round 1.
#3 YAN “NINE” XIAONAN (13-1-0, 1 NC) vs #4 CARLA “COOKIE MONSTER” ESPARZA (17-6-0)
This is a three-round co-main event in the women’s strawweight division. Xiaonan brings boxing, Sanda, and jiu-jitsu. Esparza brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. She is a former strawweight champion. Esparza is tough and will look to use her wrestling to take advantage of Xiaonan early in the fight. She will manage to bring Xiaonan down, but Xiaonan will quickly get back to her feet. Once back on her feet she will use her boxing to cause major damage to Esparza. Esparza will try to defend, but she won’t be able to withstand Xiaonan’s power. My prediction: Xiaonan wins via TKO in Round 2.
#3 ROB FONT (18-4-0) vs #4 CODY “NO LOVE” GARBRANDT (12-3-0)
This is a five-round main event in the bantamweight division. Font brings Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Garbrandt brings boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. He is a former bantamweight champion. Font is tough and will be giving Garbrandt a run for his money. Garbrandt will have trouble with Font early in the fight. He will soon figure him out and begin to attack him with force. Font will then try to run away, but Garbrandt will continue to attack him. Garbrandt will not hold anything back and keep Font under his control. My prediction: Garbrandt wins via knockout in Round 2.
