After taking Thanksgiving weekend off, the UFC is back in December with three promotions before going on sabbatical for the holidays. The week before the last big pay-per-view of 2021 we will see the legendary Jose Aldo take on Rob Font. Aldo is a two-time UFC Featherweight Champion, and he is hoping to receive another shot at the bantamweight title.
UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo will be held at the UFC Apex Training Center outside of Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 4, 2021. The action is slated to get underway at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus with the main card kicking off at 10 p.m. ET.
Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo
Rob Font is now ranked in the top five in the bantamweight division after winning four consecutive fights. He earned a Fight of the Night bonus for his unanimous decision win over Ricky Simon, and his first-round knockout of Marlon Moraes led to a Performance of the Night bonus. Font is 19-4 with eight victories by knockout, and he is coming off an impressive win over former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt six months ago.
Former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo has been one of the promotion’s premier fighters since joining from the WEC in 2011. He was the initial UFC Featherweight title holder and held the belt for 1,848 days. Aldo defended his title seven times in that stretch before suffering a stunning loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194. He claimed the title once more seven months later, but then he lost successive bouts to Max Holloway. The legend lost to Peter Yan for the vacant bantamweight championship last summer, and a win here could help set up another title shot.
Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev
It’s been a nice start to Brad Riddell’s UFC career. Riddell has won his first four fights in the promotion, and all four of those victories came by decision. He earned two Fight of the Night bonuses, including in June when he defeated Drew Dober at UFC 263. Riddell doesn’t have a knockout win since joining the UFC two and a half years ago.
Rafael Fiziev has just one loss in his MMA career. That came against Magomed Mustafaev, a fighter that Riddell beat by split decision last February. Fiziev is a very exciting fighter with bonuses in his last three bouts, so this has a good chance to be the Fight of the Night.
Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill
Jamahal Hill suffered his first loss at UFC 263 in June. He was knocked out in the first round by Paul Craig, and it hurt his chances of getting an early crack at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Hill showed that he has staying power with a convincing win over Ovince Saint Preux last December though.
One of the fighters most in need of a win on Saturday night is Jimmy Crute. Crute has lost two of his last four fights. He earned Performance of the Night bonuses with first round finishes of two opponents in 2020, but he has not had a fight last longer than the first round since December 2018.