On January 17th bantamweights Rob Font (11-1) and Joey Gomez (6-0) will clash in what many are expecting to be an all-out brawl. Font, who will be fighting in his hometown of Boston, is confident that the fight will live up to expectations. “It’s gonna be fight of the night,” Font told Bloody Elbow. “This card is awesome, it’s gonna be hard to steal the show, but I’m gonna try.”
Font’s opponent, Joey Gomez, comes into this fight on only two weeks’ notice – filling in for an injured Patrick Williams. Gomez, who has finished each of his six pro fights with strikes, is a far different fighter from state championship wrestler Williams. However, the change in opponents suits the heavy-handed Font just fine. “It made my job a lot easier,” said Font. “I don’ have to deal with a wrestler, those guys are always annoying.
“I mean, I’m definitely prepared to fight a wrestler, but you know, wrestling, especially at [Williams]’ level, it can always be annoying, they’re always strong, always athletic. I’m not saying that Joey Gomez is not strong or not athletic or all that, but I know he’s not going to be forcing the takedown as much as Patrick Williams probably would of.”
Though Font is careful not to take anything away from his new opponent’s skill-set, he does have other doubts over Gomez – who he knows well from the popular New England promotion CES. “I definitely know I am a lot more dedicated than the kid. I think he’s kinda fighting for the wrong reasons.”
Font’s claims stem from his belief that Gomez pulled out of a fight scheduled for January 8th with CES, possibly citing a rib injury. Given this, Font believes accepting an offer from the UFC is a questionable decision. “When you look at it, I’m like, ‘bro, you know you’re in this for the wrong reason’, why don’t you just turn down the call, heal up, get better. You’re 6-0, the UFC ain’t going anywhere, Sean Shelby ain’t going anywhere. To me it seems like he wants to get there so bad that he’s not being smart about how he’s approaching it and it seems like he’s just there to say that he’s in the UFC, not necessarily here to stay and take over the division. “
Though Font believes Gomez may be rushing his MMA career, he’s careful not to deride his opponent’s abilities. “I’m not saying he’s not good enough [to be in the UFC], I’m definitely not saying that,” said Font. “But to pull out of a fight for January 8th and then you’re fighting the next week, it’s like, what are you doing?”
Despite thinking the situation is unusual Font is looking forward to meeting Gomez in the cage. “When it comes down to it, I’m good man, I’m good with the match-up, I love it, I’m a beat this kid, and more power to him.”
Gomez will be making his UFC debut on the 17th. Font’s last performance, an impressive KO of George Roop, was his own UFC debut. When asked if he experienced any kind of ‘UFC jitters’ Font was emphatic. “Hell no, man.” Font claims his first time in the UFC octagon felt like, “Just another day at the office,” and questioned whether ‘UFC jitters’ are a real thing. “People say it because Joe Rogan said it a couple of times on-air,” said Font. “I train seven days a week, this is what we do. Why would I be nervous to do something I do all the time?”
Font is a member of Team Sityodtong and trains under Mark DellaGrotte and Eddie Alvarez. Font states that his Roop victory was the result of lateral movement, which he used to “freeze up” the Zuffa veteran. “[Roop] started following me around, looking at my feet, and then I just jumped on him. It worked out perfect.”
When it comes to boxing Font is confident he can hang with the best in the bantamweight division, claiming a power in his hands few 135ers can muster. However, Font doesn’t want to be labeled as ‘just a striker’. “I’ve only got two [submission victories], I got a rear naked and a d’arce so you know you really haven’t seen my ground game, my only loss was to a wrestler, off my back, so definitely I can see how people can see me as just a striker, but at Sityodtong we train everything religiously.”
The top two men in the bantamweight division will also be competing on January 17th. Font is looking forward to the spectacle, but he’s not confident in picking a winner. “If it goes all five rounds I think Cruz could squeak it out. But I do think Dillashaw may finish it in the third round. So I’m not sure where to go with it, ‘coz it’s such a tough match-up.”
Though Font’s ultimate goal is to be a champion, he’s not focusing on fighters like Cruz or Dillashaw any time soon. “Honestly, I’m not necessarily worried about rankings and all that right now, I just want to stay healthy, fight as much as possible, and collect cheques,” said Font. “I’ll worry about that maybe a year and half or two years from now. Right now I’ll just be cool with fighting five guys who are not even ranked in the top ten or fifteen, just staying busy, getting better – gotta keep it low-key.”
The failure to ‘keep it low-key’, is something Font believes is hurting other fighters, including a notable figure in his own weight-class. “You see guys like Aljamain Sterling and those guys, they kinda take these quick fights that shoot them straight up the rankings, and now they are waiting and only fighting once a year and complaining about title shots and this and that, bro you kinda screwed yourself when you took that fight.”
You can follow Rob Font on Twitter @RobSFont