Rob Font (#4) and Jose Aldo (#5) are two of the best mixed martial artists in the bantamweight division. While both fighters are known for their striking, they utilize different striking methods and are equally dangerous.
Font’s Strengths
- Good boxing
- Good octagon awareness
- Good timing
- Good feints
- Good defensive grappling
Aldo’s Strengths
- Good boxing
- Great kicks
- Solid combos
- Speed
- Good defensive grappling
What does Font need to do to win?
Font is one of the best strikers in the bantamweight division, in particular, his boxing is very good. However, what makes him dangerous is not the mechanics of his strikes (although they are pretty good), but rather the combination of his timing and how he positions himself relative to his opponents and the cage. He does a good job of cutting corners and putting himself in advantageous positions, where he can put pressure and counter at the same time. With that being said, he does tend to have a narrow stance, which can be detrimental when fighting against a solid kicker like Aldo. To win against Aldo requires Font to keep a distance and utilize mostly jab and cross for the first two rounds. Aldo will most likely answer with his combos; unless Font sees a big opening, Font simply needs to back away and reset. Starting round 3 when both athletes are fully engaged in the fight, Font can come up with combos of his own – at that point, Font’s timing and positioning will likely beat Aldo’s speed and mechanics.
What does Aldo need to do to win?
Aldo is one of the best strikers in the UFC, his mechanics are solid and he does a good job of mixing kicks with punches. Similar to Font, Aldo does a good job of positioning himself relative to his opponents, but not necessarily the cage. Aldo tends to be rather a reactive fighter, which can be problematic when fighting against a guy like Font, who does a great job of setting things up and countering. While Font’s primary weapons are his punches, it’s his footwork and movement that allow him to land clean shots. Therefore, it’s important for Aldo to attack Font’s legs from the start, doing this will disrupt Font’s movement as well as his timing. Furthermore, Aldo needs to use kicks to set up his punches because straight-up punches or even punches to set up kicks will be much easier for Font to counter.
Prediction
This is a very even match, both fighters possess the skills and abilities to win this fight. While Font has better timing and setups, Aldo has better mechanics and more weapons choices. Given how successful Aldo has been in terms of kicking his opponents in past fights, I’m leaning towards him being able to do the same in this one.
