Rob Font had to battle through early adversity to get his 17th professional win on Saturday night.
Font (17-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) came back from getting dropped in the first round to outpoint Ricky Simon in a unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C. The judges’ scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.
The bantamweight fight opened up the main card at Capital One Arena. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Simon (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) looked his best in the first round. Although Font was winning and controlling the exchanges on the feet, Simon was able to rock Font and follow up with a takedown about halfway through the round. Simon dominated the rest of the action following the takedown.
Things took a turn in round two. Appearing fully recovered from the shot, Font stuffed Simon’s takedowns and outboxed him on the feet. It was a clinical performance. Simon had his moments, but Font was clearly the dominant force on the feet. The third round was no different, as Font tagged up Simon with the jab while avoiding the takedowns.
The 32-year-old Bostonian is now on a two-fight win streak and 3-1 in his last four bouts, with his lone loss coming to longtime bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao. Meanwhile, Simon is now on a two-fight skid after a 3-0 start in the UFC.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 7 results include:
- Rob Font def. Ricky Simon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Tim Means def. Thiago Alves via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:38
- Billy Quarantillo def. Jacob Kilburn via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:18
- Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles via submission (twister) – Round 1, 4:20
- Joe Solecki def. Matt Wiman via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Virna Jandiroba def. Mallory Martin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:16
- Makhmud Muradov def. Trevor Smith via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 4:09
