UFC’s slate this weekend comes from the UFC Apex arena in Greater Las Vegas on Saturday night. The headliner of UFC on ESPN 35 is a bantamweight fight between Marlon Vera and Rob Font. The venerable Andrei Arlovski will take on Jake Collier in a heavyweight fight for the co-headliner. We have the complete fight card along with UFC betting previews for the two main fights.
UFC on ESPN 35: Font vs Vera Preview
Main Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
- Rob Font vs Marlon Vera (Bantamweight)
- Andrei Arlovski vs Jake Collier (Heavyweight)
- Andre Fili vs Joanderson Brito (Featherweight)
- Jared Gordon vs Grant Dawson (Lightweight)
- Darren Elkins vs Tristan Connelly (Featherweight)
- Krzysztof Jotko vs Gerald Merrschaert (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
- Daniel Lacerda vs Francisco Figueiredo (Flyweight)
- Alexander Romanov vs Chase Sherman (Heavyweight)
- Gabriel Green vs Yohan Lainesse (Welterweight)
- Natan Levy vs Mike Breeden (Lightweight)
- Gina Mazany vs Shanna Young (Women’s Flyweight)
- Tatsuro Taira vs Carlos Candelario (Flyweight)
Rob Font (19-5, 9-4 UFC, -140) vs Marlon Vera (18-7-1, 12-6 UFC, +110) represents Font’s crossroads if he wants to stay in the title conversation. He entered UFC with a big knockout victory against George Roop back in 2014, but injuries shut him down for more than a year, and then he got taken apart by John Lineker. This has been part of a trend for him – dominating lesser opponents but then getting timid against the better fighters in the division. However, when he beat Ricky Simon in December 2019, his career started turning up. Simon came with pressure, an approach that had made Font turtle a bit, but Font brought offense of his own this time and won easily on the cards. He beat Marlon Moraes and Cody Garbrandt to earn main event status, but then he lost on the cards to Jose Aldo in December despite fighting smart and making almost no mistakes. Aldo was able to stack points early and then control the pace near the end. Font now needs a path to contender status that will allow him to avoid Aldo.
His next test is Marlon Vera, who has risen steadily through the bantamweight ranks since joining UFC in 2014. He lost his UFC debut against Marco Beltran, but he got another chance and beat Roman Salazar via submission. He started out with grappling as his primary tool, but he has added striking to his arsenal and has elite stamina. Vera did knock Frankie Edgar out with a front kick, but his usual approach is to wear his opponents down and win on the cards. He can absorb punishment, which means that he starts quickly when it comes to getting the fight to the mat.
This fight will be an outright war, since both can last 25 minutes, and both have elite stamina. Font is no longer intimidated by pressure, but Vera will bring more consistent offense than Simon did. Vera has won more fights via submission, but he also is easier to get to the mat, and Font has done more and more wrestling in the past couple of years. Font should be able to bring enough pressure early before Vera builds a rhythm, but Vera’s durability and recent skill in finishing makes me go with him, especially with the edge in value.
Final Prediction: Vera wins via decision
Andrei Arlovski (33-20, 22-14 UFC, -150) vs Jake Collier (13-6, 5-5 UFC, +120) is the latest chapter in Arlovski’s storied career. He held the UFC Heavyweight belt back in 2005, but then he left to make more money elsewhere, only to lose four fights in a row, including three via vivid knockouts. He made his way back into the UFC, though, and he won four bouts in a row before getting knocked out by Stipe Miocic, the first of five straight losses. However, Arlovski found himself a slot in the heavyweight division, beating most of the competition on the cards while falling to a hot prospect now and then. Collier returned to UFC as a heavyweight in 2020 after taking three years off; when he left in 2017, he had fought at middleweight and light heavyweight. He has a lot of mobility for his size, and his wrestling brought him a win in January against Chase Sherman. However, Arlovski should be able to deliver enough strikes to get the points.
Final Prediction: Arlovski wins via decision
UFC Betting Odds
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