Another fight weekend is in the books, and with that, the book on the UFC’s 2020 has officially been closed. The final UFC event of the year was headlined on Saturday night by Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson putting on a vintage performance in a unanimous decision win over Geoff Neal, leaving only RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve show left among major MMA events this calendar year.
I’ll have more in the upcoming days recapping an unprecedented year in the history of mixed martial arts. But, as usual, here’s a look at three fighters outside the main event this past weekend who boosted their stock.
Thirty-four years old. Thirty-six pro fights. Two world championship runs and a first-ballot spot in any hall of fame for mixed martial arts. And Jose Aldo still has a lot left to give.
The legendary former champion entered Saturday night’s fight against the much younger Marlon Vera at a career crossroads. The greatest featherweight in the history of the sport, Aldo dropped down to bantamweight last year but was still looking for his first win at 135, having dropped a split decision to Marlon Moraes and fading against current champion Petr Yan. A loss to Vera – a talented fighter on a very good run, but not one approaching Aldo’s historic level – would mean that it might be time for Aldo to ride off into the sunset.
Instead, Aldo dug in and showed how much is still in his tank. Father Time is undefeated, and Jose Aldo is not the same fighter he once was. He’s not as fast, not as explosive, not as durable. But the skills that made him a legend are still there. He’s still a marvelously crisp technical Muay Thai striker and you still can’t take him down. He showed off all of those talents on Saturday in a unanimous decision win.
Aldo schooled the 28-year-old Vera for three rounds in a vintage performance. Aldo’s body work and his fabled leg kicks looked as dangerous as ever. Vera’s attempts to take him down had absolutely no chance. Aldo outworked, outpaced and outlanded Vera, who was limited to one big flurry at the end of the second round that won him the frame on all three judges’ scorecards – I still thought Aldo won the round with his cultured striking game. But with the official scores level, Aldo came out in the third round and left no doubt, immediately taking Vera’s back, frustrating the Ecuadorian for remaining five minutes and closing this out.
We often concentrate on the younger fighters with their great physical gifts, but Jose Aldo showed us that there are still levels to this shit. He may not have the strength or the one-punch power of Vera – explosive KOs were never really Aldo’s thing anyway – but his experience and skill level are still almost unmatched. He’s slowed down some, but not enough that he can’t still be an elite 135-pounder for at least a little while.
This column is usually reserved for younger fighters who are on the way to reaching their potential, not fighters in their mid-30s who already have a spot in the GOAT conversation. But it was impossible to watch Aldo’s fight with Vera and not think that he still had one more run left in him.
Aldo wasn’t the only bantamweight in his early-to-mid-30s to score a big-time win on Saturday night – except this other guy isn’t an all-time legend, just a heavy-handed talent trying to stand out from the pack. He did so in a big way on Saturday.
33-year-old Massachusetts native Rob Font has been fighting in the UFC since 2014, during which time he’s established himself as one of the bantamweight division’s more promising up-and-comers. Font seemingly improves every time we see him step in the cage – which isn’t often enough, as Saturday was only the second time he’s fought in the last two years – and it’s seemed like only a matter of time before Font finally captures the signature win he needs to catapult himself up the rankings.
Well, on Saturday, Font finally broke through. Facing Marlon Moraes, the former title challenger who ranks as the biggest name he has ever faced, Font had the kind of performance that can make a career, knocking out the top-five contender in round one.
Moraes, who entered the fight not having decisively won a bout since February of last year, put Font on the back foot early. Moraes scored a couple of takedowns, threatened with a guillotine, and made Font defend. But when the fight got back standing, Font let his hands go, and he blew the doors off Moraes. Font put together beautiful combinations that threatened the body and the head, overall looking quicker and sharper than Moraes, himself known for his considerable striking power.
Font finally backed Moraes up with a very stiff left jab before flooring him with an uppercut and blasting him unconscious with some heavy shots on the ground. A lot of the focus coming out of the fight will be on Moraes, and deservedly so. Moraes took the fight only a couple months after getting knocked out by a stunning Cory Sandhagen wheel kick – probably a bad decision in retrospect – and now his future may be very much in doubt. Moraes entered 2020 as the No. 1 bantamweight contender in the sport, and he’s leaving the year off two straight KO losses.
But Font sent a message to the rest of the division that he’s finally arrived as a top-flight bantamweight. That crisp, technical and powerful striking is going to play. He’ll get another big name next – if he gets his way, it’ll be T.J. Dillashaw, although Aldo has also called out the former bantamweight champ – and with a win, could be in line for a shot at whoever holds the title.
Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another year to see him fight again. After the beating he put on Moraes, Font should be ready to get back in there real soon.
Valentina Shevchenko reigns over the UFC women’s flyweight division with an iron fist, and is getting closer and closer to wiping the slate clean of any meaningful challengers. So, any promising young fighter who can put together a streak is very welcome. We’re starting to get a bit desperate. With that in mind, hello, Taila Santos!
Santos is a 27-year-old Brazilian who signed with the UFC two years ago, after racking up a 15-0 pro record on the regional scene in her home country. She entered the UFC with a reputation as a powerful Muay Thai specialist, but was largely outgrappled in her debut against Italian judoka Mara Romero Borella last February and lost a split decision.
Santos rebounded with a win over Molly McCann in July, and on Saturday, was paired up against another excellent grappler: BJJ black belt and Din Thomas protege Gillian Robertson, herself bubbling under as a prospect to watch at 125. Almost two years removed from the only loss of her career, Santos showed just how far she’s come.
It seemed relatively likely that Santos, considering her Muay Thai skill and the list of knockouts on her resume, would enter the Robertson fight wanting to keep things standing. Instead, Santos played the black belt’s game and won. Santos willingly went to the ground with Robertson again and again, foiling a number of submission attempts and asserting control over the fight by maintaining top position and landing consistent ground-and-pound.
Santos-Robertson was a fantastic grappling match to watch, as the two women rolled through numerous transitions and submission threats. Robertson was constantly going for armbars, guillotines, anything you could name, even after Santos busted her open with a big elbow in round two. For her part, Santos deftly shut everything down while also staying on the attack, at one point nearly getting Robertson with one of the most rare submissions in MMA, the inverted triangle choke.
Santos’ striking is her bread and butter, but one had to be tremendously impressed with how she took on Robertson’s strength head-on and dominated the judge’s scorecards anyway. It shows you that Santos is committed to putting the work in to improve and test herself, and at her age, she still has plenty of room left to grow. She should enter the top 15 after this win, and she bears paying attention to over the next couple years.
The Big Fight 