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Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Rob Font has been a Top 15 bantamweight over the last two years, even maintaining the same position at No. 11 over his last two fights. However, he fell short in key opportunities to breakthrough to the upper echelon in decision losses to Raphael Assuncao and John Lineker. At UFC Fight Night 183, he gets another chance against former title challenger Marlon Moraes. This time around, Font believes he’s better prepared to seize the moment that has long eluded him.
“I’ve had the opportunities; I just didn’t take advantage of it. And I don’t think I was ready for those opportunities yet,” Font told Sherdog. “Especially the John Lineker fight. I went from fighting Joey Gomez; pretty much a local fighter to John Lineker in front of 40,000 people in Curitiba [Brazil]. In my mind I thought it’s just another day, but it wasn’t. I didn’t [fully understand] what was really going on. Then the Assuncao fight, another great opportunity, I showed up ready but he out-positioned me the whole time. And it felt like a true veteran. He didn’t beat me up [or] finish me but he beat me to every position. And I learned a lot from that fight. I just feel like I’m still getting better and I feel like I just learned how to wrestle. The power and the speed is always there. My training partners are getting better and I just feel like this is the right opportunity for me right now. I just got to go out there, not overthink this, and fight this guy. And I know I’m going to come out with the victory. I just want to see how I finish this fight.”
In his conversation with Sherdog, the 33-year-old spoke in-depth about his Dec. 19 fight inside the UFC Apex and how booking a bout over the last couple years had been far more frustrating than he ever expected. Plus, he talked about how seeking the help of a sports psychologist has benefited him greatly during his recent three-fight win streak.
