A bantamweight fight between Cody Garbrandt and Rob Font will serve as the headliner of a UFC Fight Night card on May 22. Per an initial report from Brett Okamoto of ESPN, the fight is in the process of being finalized with contracts expected to be signed soon by both men.
Garbrandt returns to the Octagon following his buzzer-beater knockout over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250 in June 2020. The win over Assuncao snapped a three-fight losing streak for Garbrandt, who previously lost to former champion T.J. Dillashaw twice and Pedro Munhoz respectively.
Garbrandt was then expected to drop down from bantamweight to flyweight to meet current champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255, but was forced to withdraw from the fight because of a torn bicep. A month prior to the withdrawal, Garbrandt tested positive for COVID-19 and had been suffering from long-term complications stemming from the virus, but has since recovered.
He planned on returning for his fight with Figueiredo, but it appears Garbrandt will remain at his natural weight class for now. He still intends on debuting in the flyweight division at some point.
Font enters the fight on a three-fight win streak that includes unanimous decision wins over Sergio Pettis and Ricky Simon as well as a first-round technical knockout over Marlon Moraes. Font made it to the top five of the division after the Moraes knockout and called for either a “big name or a headliner” in his next outing, which he now gets in his fight with Garbrandt.
The location or venue has yet to be determined for this card, but several fights have already been announced. A women’s featherweight fight between former title challenger Felicia Spencer and UFC newcomer Danyelle Wolf has been made official. Also, a women’s strawweight fight with title implications between Carla Esparza and Xiaonan Yan has been set as well.
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