Mixed martial arts is called the harm enterprise, a deluge of punches and kicks, knockouts and all-out aggression. So it would sound misplaced to listen to Rob Font say he has “got to feel bad” about planning to beat up his opponent this Saturday at UFC 326 in Las Vegas.
Except he was simply joking, in response to being knowledgeable that his 21-year-old opponent, Raul Rosas Jr., was simply 7 years outdated on the evening Font made his professional MMA debut in 2011.
“It’s crazy to think about it like that,” Font instructed ESPN final week. “That’s so wild. I’m like, ‘I’ve almost got to feel bad now.’ But … nah.” He laughed.
No, Font will not hesitate to get right into a fistfight with the grown-up model of Rosas (11-1), who already has six UFC fights since making his Octagon debut 4 years in the past. He was 17 when he earned a contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” changing into the youngest fighter ever to signal with the UFC.
“He’s young but he’s hungry, and I know he’s dangerous,” Font mentioned. “I’m definitely not taking him lightly at all.”
Font (22-9) is 38 years outdated, giving this matchup a 17-year age hole. That’s notable however not even near a UFC document. In 1994 at UFC 4, Royce Gracie, a legend within the making however simply 27 on the time, confronted 51-year-old Ron van Clief. It turned out to be the primary of three submission victories for Gracie on the way in which to successful that one-night match. Van Clief, a kung fu action-film actor who was competing in his solely MMA bout, nonetheless owns the excellence of being the oldest fighter within the UFC.
Aside from that long-ago battle’s age distinction of 23 years, 10 months, two different UFC matchups have had a wider hole than this coming Saturday’s. In each instances, the distinction was additionally 17 years, just some months wider than Font vs. Rosas.
Rosas acknowledged that such a technology hole in a battle is a rarity, however he did not see its relevance. “Age doesn’t really matter, especially at this level,” he instructed ESPN on Tuesday. “It’s just another day in the office.”
Maybe Rosas did not obtain the office memo about what makes this weekend’s age hole greater than a mere curiosity: In the UFC’s three-decade historical past, there have been 11 matchups with an age distinction of 16 years or extra, and the youthful fighter has gained each single one.
“Hmm, I don’t really know what to make of that,” Rosas mentioned. “I’m not thinking about Rob Font’s age too much, and I don’t think he’s thinking about mine.”
It’s true that Font is unfazed by the 0-11 document of his fellow elders and this battle’s age hole. He is selecting to dwell as a substitute on a special hole: expertise. Font has almost 3 times as many professional bouts as Rosas, however much more telling than the amount is the standard. Font has shared the Octagon with three former UFC champions and has a 1-2 document towards them. He’s confronted three different fighters who’ve challenged for a UFC belt. He has additionally overwhelmed former titlists from Bellator MMA, the World Series of Fighting and One Championship.
Rosas’ résumé doesn’t shimmer like that.
“He has a lot of buzz behind him — in fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever fought somebody that has this much buzz,” Font mentioned. “But I definitely believe that I am his biggest test to date.”
Rosas did not disagree with that evaluation. “That’s what makes me excited about this fight: It’s a good challenge for me, a good step up,” he mentioned. “Here is where I discover myself, what I’m truly made of.”
That is to not counsel that Rosas’ focus was totally inward. He acknowledged what sharing the cage with a high-level veteran can imply for his personal future.
“Rob Font, I respect him,” Rosas mentioned. “He’s done great things in the sport, fought the best of the best. And being able to fight somebody like that excites me, because I know after I get the W on Saturday, all I’m going to get after this are tough fights.”
With all due respect to these he is met on the fast-lane path he has traveled within the UFC, Rosas mentioned he welcomes what’s forward as a result of he is been making ready for this since he was a child — since even earlier than Saturday’s 17-years-older opponent was a fighter. Remember, Font made his professional debut when Rosas was 7.
“I was in the first grade at that age, but I was already training,” Rosas mentioned matter-of-factly, as if that have been a traditional age to start an MMA life. At 4 years outdated, he started watching his father practice, however earlier than lengthy, watching wasn’t sufficient. He initially started coaching in karate, earlier than shifting onto different disciplines.
“I trained hard even when I was little,” Rosas mentioned. “I poured all my life into it.”
By the time he was a youngster, Rosas was competing internationally. At 14, he gained a gold medal on the 1999 International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’s youth world championships in Rome. He turned professional at 17 and, after 5 fast wins over a seven-month span, obtained his shot on “DWCS” — whereas nonetheless in highschool. He has gone 5-1 in his first six UFC fights, bringing Rosas to the place he’s at this time at age 21.
When Font was 21, he not solely hadn’t begun coaching in MMA, however he additionally knew nothing in regards to the sport. He was delivering pizzas in Tampa, Florida, and in the future he confirmed up at a buyer’s home, the place he turned curious in regards to the guys rolling round on a mat within the storage. Font caught round to observe them practice, requested a whole lot of questions and, inside a number of weeks, was making the most of an area gymnasium’s introductory provide for per week of free MMA exercises.
Font took to the game instantly and made his professional debut at 24 years outdated. He was 10-1 when he was signed by the UFC in 2014 and has flirted with the highest 10 rankings at instances since. He has collected six efficiency bonuses in 20 visits to the Octagon, and his six knockouts tie him with Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera for second most in UFC males’s bantamweight historical past.
The stat that Font finds most relevant to Saturday’s battle, nevertheless, is that he has fought 31 instances and by no means been knocked out.
“Yes, I’m the older fighter here, but I don’t have a lot of wear and tear,” he mentioned. “I’ve been in a few wars, but I haven’t been beaten up as much as some older fighters. I feel kind of young.”
And Rosas feels type of older than his years. He as soon as set a aim of changing into the youngest UFC champion ever — Jon Jones has the document at 23 years, 8 months — however has since amended it to goal for 2 division titles and retirement by age 25. But with six UFC fights beneath his belt, Rosas places out the unhurried vibe of a veteran of the game.
“I definitely feel more comfortable, more calm and collected, now that I’ve been in the Octagon a few times,” Rosas mentioned. “Every fight, I’m a better version of myself.”
