Rob Font draws inspiration from Charles Oliveira and Puerto Rico ahead of his shot at the main event against Cody Garbrandt

It will be the first time he fights five rounds in the UFC and with both fighters’ track records, fans are expecting a war, plenty of stand-up exchanges and, of course, great boxing.

Font (18-4), a Puerto Rican native, arrived in Las Vegas on two weeks’ notice from the East Coast, where he trains with the New England Cartel, a small team that has been gaining momentum under Tyson Chartier.

Font believes the conditions are in place to define a title challenger, or at least sign a contender’s fight after Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling settle the 135-pound crown following Yan’s disqualification that earned Sterling the crown at UFC 259.

“Cody is the type of opponent who is looking for the fight, knock you out or get knocked out. He’s not afraid to take chances, we’ll definitely both be looking for a bonus. I know a convincing win would put me close to a title fight, I’m not underestimating him, but my goal is to get to that title fight,” he explained to ESPN Deportes Digital.

Although Garbrandt (12-3) suffered complications by Covid-19 and Font is on a three-fight winning streak, including the last one against former contender Marlon Moraes, he does not appear as a favorite in the betting, something that is always a motivation for him.

“Throughout my career people have seen me as the underdog. I hope this fight shows them that I mean business. But today I feel like Charles Oliveira, nobody was betting on him and now he’s champion. Now everybody is team Oliveira, I want to finish Cody and everybody is team Font,” said the Massachusetts-born fighter.

Although he comes in with the confidence of taking the win, he knows that his road to the championship still has one more hurdle: “I think if I win I have to fight the winner of the Cory Sandhagen-TJ Dillashaw fight (scheduled for July 24) or at least the loser of the title fight, I’d say I’m still one win away from the finish line after winning this one,” he added.

The four-time UFC title winner is getting a lot of support from Latino fans for this fight, especially from the land of his family and that’s how he perceives it on his social networks.

“It’s huge, I love seeing all the Puerto Rican flags on my (social media) wall, Puerto Ricans support their fighters always. I grew up watching boxers like Miguel Cotto, Felix ‘Tito’ Trinidad and Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho. I’m very excited to represent them too,” said the number three ranked UFC bantamweight (one spot above Garbrandt), who delved into the tradition of following boxing at home: “We always get together to watch the fights, especially Trinidad’s, I respect his left hook a lot and I work that hook a lot, it makes me proud to feel that support from Puerto Ricans.

Font is confident that UFC president Dana White’s plans come to fruition and he can build a Performance Institute in Puerto Rico.

“It would be amazing for us, I know we have a lot of future champions developing. It would be a great reason for me, to go train, enjoy the weather and the food,” he confessed.

Saturday’s event will take place at UFC Apex and will feature a co-main event fight that could also determine a future challenger for the women’s 115-pound championship, when former champion Carla Esparza takes on China’s Yan Xiaonan.