Countdown of the week’s best UFC & PFL fights: #4-5

5. Rob Font vs Kyler Phillips

Rob Font has remained a top bantamweight for years despite his poor record lately, but at age 37 his time at the top may be coming to a close. His fall in the rankings due to a 1-4 record has been assuaged because of the high level competition he has been facing, his brilliant knockout over Adrian Yanez, and the fact that he had competitive fights with that competition other than Cory Sandhagen.

However, Kyler Phillips is a fighter who has always been extremely naturally talented. Now that he is at an age which is usually prime for fighters, we expect him to live up to the potential he showed by out-striking Song Yadong back in 2021.

Yet against a fighter like Rob Font, it’s been proven that taking him down is the best path, and Phillips is a lightning-hot grappler, with strong ground and pound and a litany of submissions in his back pocket. Font won’t make it easy though, the scrambles will be intense and anytime this fight is on the feet, he will be pushing the pace against Kyler, who has been known to slow down late in hard fights.

As he ages, I expect Rob to be chin-checked more and more. He’s always been prone to being dropped, just his toughness has let him stay in fights and make it to a decision, but at this stage Phillips by knockout or club-and-sub are my predictions.

4. Su Mudaerji vs Charles Johnson

Charles Johnson took some time to find his footing in the UFC, but now the former LFA flyweight champion has begun to look an awful lot like he is one of the best flyweights in the world.

He showcased high level defensive grappling against now-formerly undefeated Kazakh Azat Maksum to begin his win streak, and even took down the dominant wrestler twice himself. When he followed that up with big wins over tricky strikers Jake Hadley and Joshua Van it became clear to all that Charles can be a threat to ranked flyweights.

In his path to get there stands formerly ranked 125er Sumudaerji, also a striking expert. While Charles may mix in the wrestling himself, he often likes to beat opponents where they are strongest, so I expect a high level, high paced, and high action striking duel in the featured bout of UFC Vegas 99 on Saturday evening.