A title shot could be at stake on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo as former champion Jose Aldo faces rising contender Rob Font in Las Vegas. The main UFC fight card is set for 10 p.m. ET and concludes with a showdown of top-five bantamweight contenders. The No. 4-ranked Font has won four straight bouts, including a dominant decision in May over former title-holder Cody Garbrandt. He faces a challenge against the No. 5-ranked Aldo, the former longtime featherweight champion who has moved down in weight for the twilight of his career to pursue another UFC belt.
Font is a -140 favorite (risk $140 to win $100), while Aldo is a+120 underdog in the latest Font vs. Aldo odds at Caesars Sportsbook. In the co-main event, explosive lightweight prospects clash as Rafael Fiziev (-130) meets Brad Riddell (+110). Before making any selections of your own for UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Andrew Gombas.
Gombas is a former NCAA wrestler who taps into his experience on the mat to dissect the X’s and O’s of MMA matchups in a manner that sets him apart from other MMA analysts. He started the MMA handicapping service MMA Knockout Bets in 2018 and has shown a profit every year since.
With more than 1,200 selections tracked by the third-party monitoring service Bet MMA, he has shown a 10 percent return on investment for his followers. In 2020, $100 bettors who tailed his picks were up $9,200. Two weeks ago at UFC Fight Night, his winners included predicting a victory for Ketlen Vieira (+100) over Miesha Tate (-120) in a battle of women’s bantamweight contenders in the main event. Anyone who has followed Gombas already has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo in sight, Gombas has studied the card from top to bottom and released his top selections. A successful parlay of those picks would pay better than 5-1. You can only see Gombas’ UFC picks at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo preview
The main event is widely considered the best non-title fight that could be made in the top-heavy bantamweight division. The winner could be next in line for a title shot since interim champion Petr Yan is likely to face sitting champion Aljamain Sterling in early 2022. Sterling has sat out this year to address multiple injuries, but recently told the media that he expects to be at full strength soon and could sign the contract for a rematch with Yan.
Either Font (19-4) or Aldo (30-7) will emerge as a frontrunner to take on the winner of that title bout, while second-ranked T.J. Dillashaw is also in the mix. Both of Saturday’s main-event combatants are considered among the best strikers in the UFC.
Aldo was once one of the promotion’s dominant champions, as he went nearly 10 years in between losses while winning the featherweight belt and defending it seven times. His run came to a memorable end with one punch from Conor McGregor in December 2015, starting a stretch that has seen him post a 5-6 mark in his last 11 bouts.
The feared 35-year-old Brazilian lost his first two fights at bantamweight, including a lopsided stoppage loss to Yan for the vacant title. He has responded with two straight wins, but likely needs a third to remain in the title picture.
Font, 34, is a seven-year UFC veteran who went 5-3 in his first eight appearances, but hasn’t lost since July 2018. He has emerged as a durable power puncher who also has improved his ground game. His dominant showing against the dangerous Garbrandt silenced skeptics who questioned if he belonged among the division’s elite. You can only see who to back here.
UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo predictions
We’ll reveal one of Gombas’ UFC Fight Night predictions here: He is supporting Jimmy Crute (-180) to get his hand raised against Jamahal Hill (+160) in a matchup of light heavyweight prospects.
Crute (12-2) was rising the rankings and considered perhaps the division’s top young prospect before suffering a setback against former challenger Anthony Smith in May. The versatile 25-year-old Australian has five knockouts and four submissions among his 12 professional MMA victories.
The power-punching Hill (8-1-1) made an impression with two wins and one no-contest in his first three UFC outings. But the 30-year-old Chicago native took his first professional loss in June in the first round against veteran submissions specialist Paul Craig.
“Hill has some questionable defensive tendencies. I think Crute’s grappling upside, leg kicks and sound defense will be the difference-makers,” Gombas told SportsLine.
How to make UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo picks
Gombas also has strong picks for Font vs. Aldo and other fights on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing a fighter who “has great body kicks and can fight out of both stances” to score a win. Those UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Font vs. Aldo? And what other picks do you need to see for a parlay with a payout of more than 5-1? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed top picks on UFC Fight Night, all from the insider who’s up nearly $9,200 on MMA picks in the past year, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds, fight card
Jose Aldo (+120) vs. Rob Font (-140)
Brad Riddell (+110) vs. Rafael Fiziev (-130)
Clay Guida (+175) vs. Leonardo Santos (-200)
Jimmy Crute (-180) vs. Jamahal Hill (+160)
Brendan Allen (-350) vs. Chris Curtis (+295)
Maki Pitolo (+150) vs. Dusko Todorovic (-170)
Manel Kape (-220) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (+190)
Jake Matthews (-185) vs. Jeremiah Wells (+165)
Cheyanne Buys (-180) vs. Mallory Martin (+160)
Alonzo Menifield (-170) vs. William Knight (+150)
Claudio Puelles (+100) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (-120)
Alex Morono (-215) vs. Mickey Gall (+185)
Louis Smolka (-145) vs. Vince Morales (+125)
