UFC Vegas 27: Font vs Garbrandt betting picks – May 22, 2021

The bantamweight division in the UFC is loaded with talent, and the winner of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 27 main event between Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt will emerge as a potential title contender alongside the likes of Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. One look at the odds on offer at the top UFC bookmakers tells you this should be a ding-dong battle.

Font vs Garbrandt fight preview

Rob Font (18-4-0) picked up his third straight win in December with a knockout victory over Marlon Moraes. The 32-year-old is 4-1 over his last five fights and has won each of his last three, earning a Fight of the Night in his win over Ricky Simon in 2019 and a Performance of the Night bonus for his knockout win over Moraes last year. Five of Font’s eight career wins in the UFC have come by way of knockout.

Cody Garbrandt (12-3-0) kicked off his professional career with an 11-0 record that included a 6-0 run through the UFC and a win over Dominick Cruz to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 207. Garbrandt’s career then took an unexpected swerve with three straight knockout losses as T.J. Dillashaw defeated him twice and Pedro Munhoz beat him at UFC 235. After taking 15 months off to get back on track, Garbrandt returned in thrilling fashion with a one-punch knockout over Raphael Assuncao late in the second round of their bout at UFC 250.

Font vs Garbrandt betting predictions

These are the types of fights that you love to see in the main event slot. Both of these fighters are always moving forward and looking for the knockout. Only two of Cody Garbrandt’s 15 career fights have made it to the cards, as the other 13 have been resolved with 10 knockout wins and three knockout losses. This one is as tough to pick as the sports betting odds suggest, although there is pretty clear value on the under 2.5 rounds as this fight will always be one well-placed strike away from ending.

The outcome of this fight will likely boil down to how patient Garbrandt is willing to be. He showed solid poise in his win over Assuncao and is an excellent counter-striker when he keeps his composure. He can win this fight if he doesn’t let it devolve into a slugfest, but that will be easier said than done against an aggressive striker like Rob Font. We lean towards Font given Garbrandt’s tendency in his recent losses to take too many blows, while questions linger around Cody’s condition after a lengthy bout with COVID-19. That said, you can’t go wrong taking either side in this one.