UFC Fight Night: Font vs Garbrandt Predictions, Odds & Picks

• It’s a battle of the bantamweights in the main event this Saturday night as third-ranked Rob Font takes on former champion Cody Garbrandt at the UFC Apex
• Another former champion does battle as Carla Esparza does battle with Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event – a fight that could have number-one contender status on the line
• A bout between Felicia Spencer and Normas Dumont could also see the winner crowned as a number-one contender; this time for Amanada Nunes’ featherweight title

UFC Fight Night: Font vs Garbrandt

The odds for this match are provided by William Hill sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to William Hill and place a bet.

UFC Fight Night: Font vs Garbrandt – Picks & Predictions

Rob Font vs Cody Garbrandt – Bantamweight Division

Rob Font (-115)

Yan Xiaonan vs Carla Esparza – Women’s Strawweight Division

Yan Xiaonan (-120)

Justin Tafa vs Jared Vanderaa – Heavyweight Division

Jared Vanderaa (+160)

Felicia Spencer vs Norma Dumont Viana – Women’s Featherweight Division

Felicia Spencer (-180)

Jack Hermansson vs Edmen Shahbazyan – Middleweight Division

Jack Hermansson (-155)

How to Watch UFC Fight Night: Font vs Garbrandt

Rob Font vs Cody Garbrandt – Bantamweight Division

Rob Font

Rob Font has been the victim of circumstance throughout his recent career – battling through injuries, injured opponents, and canceled events. But that hasn’t stopped him from putting together a very impressive three-fight winning streak.

Fighting only three times in the past three years, Font defeated Sergio Pettis in December 2018. He followed that performance one year later with a December 2019 fight of the night win over Ricky Simon.

Font returned to the octagon – you guessed it – one year later in December 2020. In this, his most recent bout, Font took on former title challenger Marlon Moraes and defeated him via the first-round TKO – earning him a performance of the night bonus.

The American fighter is currently in the UFC bantamweight rankings as number three.

Fighting since 2011, Font trains out of Massachusetts with the New England Cartel team. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as well as a white Mongkok in muay Thai. He is a former CES MMA featherweight champion.

He will have an incredible six-inch reach advantage over his opponent Saturday night.

Cody “No Love” Garbrbandt

After winning the UFC bantamweight championship from Dominick Cruz in 2016, Garbrandt started to struggle.

He lost the belt to TJ Dillashaw via second-round TKO in his first defense and went on to lose an immediate rematch, this time via the first-round TKO.

In his next fight, Garbrandt took on Pedro Munhoz at UFC 235. Despite earning a fight of the night bonus, Garbrandt would once again suffer a first-round TKO loss. He was an undefeated 11-0 prior to this losing streak.

Luckily for Garbrandt, he turned things around in his most recent bout last June at UFC 250. He took on Raphael Assuncao and knocked him out with one second left in the second round, earning performance of the night bonus.

He has been out of the octagon for almost one full year.

Garbrandt trains in California with Team Alpha Male and coach Mark Henry. He has been fighting since 2012 and boasts NCAA division II wrestling credentials.

As of now, he is ranked as number four in the UFC bantamweight division and has hinted recently to moving down to the flyweight division.

Yan Xiaonan vs Carla Esparza – Women’s Strawweight division

Yan “Fury” Xiaonan

Yan Xiaonan is one of the UFC’s most exciting rising stars and it’s easy to see why. The ever-exciting fighting style she possesses has led her to victory in all of her six UFC bouts.

She holds notable wins over the likes of former title challengers Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The Gadelha fight was her last appearance in the octagon, which took place last November.

There is no doubt that a victory over Carla Esparza, a former champion, would catapult her to the very top of the strawweight division, where she is already ranked as number three.

Born in China, Xiaonan trains out of Beijing with China Top Team as well as with the Extreme Sanda gym with coaches Zhao Xuejun and Ruy Menezes.

She has been fighting professionally since 2009 and was the first-ever female Chinese fighter signed by the UFC. She is currently ranked as the 11th-best pound-for-pound women’s fighter on the roster.

Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza

The owner of one of the best UFC debuts imaginable, Carla Esparza rose to fame as the winner of the Ultimate Fighter in which she beat Rose Namajunas in the tournament final to become the inaugural strawweight champion.

After losing her belt, Esparza saw mixed success from 2015 to 2018 but come 2019, things turned around for the former champion as she currently finds herself on a four-fight winning streak.

After defeating the likes of Alexa Grasso and Michelle Waterson, Esparza had her most recent fight come against Marina Rodriguez last July. It was a close fight, but it was Esparza who walked away with the split-decision victory.

The former champ is a California native who trains out of her home state with Team Oyama. Fighting since 2010, she boasts NAIA wrestling credentials and holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

She will stand four inches shorter than her opponent Saturday night. She is ranked as the fourth-best women’s strawweight.

Justin Tafa vs Jared Vanderaa – Heavyweight Division

Justin “Bad Man” Tafa

Justin Tafa is still very new to the mixed martial arts game, but the New Zealand native has proven to be a hard-hitting fan favorite. He joined the UFC as a 3-0 prospect in 2019 and thus far holds a UFC record of 1-2.

After losing his debut to Yorgan de Castro via knockout, Tafa rebounded with a knockout of his own over Juan Adams. His most recent bout came this past January, where he was on the losing end of a razor-thin split-decision against Carlos Felipe.

Tafa trains out of Australia with the NTG Fight and Fitness team and coach Terry McNaught and has been fighting professionally since 2017.

He is a former XFC heavyweight champion and he holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Patrick Cronin.

He will stand four-inches shorter than his opponent Saturday night and will also be at a six-inch reach disadvantage.

Jared “The Mountain” Vanderaa

After a big first-round TKO win on the Dana White Contender Series last November, Jared Vanderaa made his UFC debut this past February against Sergey Spivak. Unfortunately for Vanderaa, he lost via TKO in the second round.

He is still searching for his first UFC win in what will be his second Octagon appearance.

Vanderaa comes into this bout with not only significant physical advantages but significantly more fighting experience as well.

The Washington native trains out of California at Dan Henderson’s Athletic Fitness Center.

Felicia Spencer vs Norma Dumont Viana – Women’s Featherweight Division

Felicia “Feenom” Spencer

The Canadian-born Felicia Spencer is a former Invicta FC featherweight champion who made her UFC debut in 2019, where she earned a first-round submission victory over Megan Anderson.

Her next fight saw her fight former UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. Spencer and Cyborg would go the distance, with Cyborg ultimately being awarded with the unanimous decision victory.

Spencer would earn a first-round TKO win over Zarah dos Santos and would be given a title shot against featherweight champion Amanda Nunes next. She would go the distance yet again, and would ultimately find herself on the losing end of a judges’ decision once more.

She has not fought since June 2020.

Fighting since 2012, Spencer trains out of Orlando with coach Mike Lee and the Jungle MMA team. She holds black belts in both taekwondo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

She will be one-inch shorter than her opponent Saturday night but will have a one-inch reach advantage.

Norma “The Immortal” Dumont Viana

Norma Dumont debuted for the UFC last February, losing to Megan Anderson via first-round knockout.

She bounced back, fighting once more in 2020 and earning a unanimous decision win over Ashlee Evans-Smith.

She has not fought since her November 2020 win over Evans-Smith and she steps into this fight against Felicia Spencer on relatively short notice.

The Brazilian fighter, who has only one professional loss on her record, trains out of her home country with the Gordin Fight Team. She is known for her Sanda fighting style.

Jack Hermansson vs Edmen Shahbazyan – Middleweight Division

Jack “The Joker” Hermansson

Swedish fighter Jack Hermansson was riding high in the middleweight division, making a name for himself with a four-fight winning streak that saw him defeat the likes of Gerald Meerschaert and legend Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

The winning streak was snapped in 2019 when he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Jared Cannonier. However Hermansson bounced back in a big way when he took a fight with former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum and beat him in the first round with a heel hook submission.

Hermansson was expected to face Darren Till next, however Till pulled out due to injury. He was rescheduled to face Marvin Vettori and unfortunately lost their December 2020 fight of the night  bout by unanimous decision.

The Swede enters this contest Saturday night with a height disadvantage but he brings more experience to the table, being nine-years older than his opponent.

Fighting since 2010, Hermansson trains with the Frontline Academy in Norway with trainers Eduardo Rios and Mohsen Bahari.

“The Joker” is a former Cage Warriors and Fight series champion and is currently ranked as the seventh-best middleweight in the division.

Edmen “The Golden Boy” Shahbazyan

Edmen Shahbazyan entered the UFC as an undefeated fighter and quickly took the promotion by storm when he won his first four fights in a row for the promotion.

He also has a win on the Dana White Contender Series.

He holds notable UFC wins including a knockout win over Brad Tavares.

He most recently fought in August 2020 against Derek Brunson. It would be this fight that Shahbazyan would see his winning streak snapped as he lost the fight via third-round TKO.

Only fighting professionally since 2017, Shahbazyan trains with infamous coach Edmond Tarverdyan – the man most known for coaching Ronda Rousey. They train together at the Glendale Fighting Club.

He will be at a 3.5-inch reach disadvantage against Hermansson. Shahbazyan rounds out the top-10 of the division as the tenth-best middleweight in the UFC.