Rob Font truly feels like an elite bantamweight after outclassing Cody Garbrandt, pros react to Paul Felder's retirement, Jake Paul takes aim at Garbrandt and more UFC Vegas 27 fallout.
Rob Font feels he has to "sit back and wait" for bantamweight division
Rob Font will patiently wait for the bantamweight division to clear up following his win over Cody Garbrandt at UFC Vegas 27.
“I feel like I still have to sit back and wait,” Font admitted to press at the UFC Vegas 27 post-fight press conference (h/t MMA Junkie). “It sucks. I could have dominated, or I could have knocked him out. I still would have had to sit back and wait.”
“I definitely don’t want to fight backwards,” Font continued. “I’ve learned patience. I’ll be patient.”
Font also touched on the validation he feels after beating a former champion in Garbrandt.
“You go in there and go five rounds with Cody Garbrandt – was it (Dominick) Cruz that went five rounds with him?” Font asked. “And Cruz is a legend. You go five rounds with him and not get knocked out, you prove that you’re legit.”
Font also examined the two men competing next for the UFC bantamweight title: champion Aljamain Sterling and former titleholder Petr Yan.
“I think Aljamain might be a tougher puzzle to solve,” Font said (h/t MMA Fighting). “Petr Yan’s similar to Cody. You know, stay long, long jab, and then run into something big. Aljamain’s a little trickier because of the wrestling and his length. But Aljamain, same thing, I think it will be boxing him up, stop a couple of takedowns and then straight box him up."
“And then same thing for Petr Yan. Just not get hit with big shots and box him up as well.”
Petr Yan pokes fun at Cody Garbrandt's "technical flaws"
Petr Yan has nothing nice to say about UFC Vegas 27 headliners Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt.
Yan took verbal jabs at both men following Saturday's main event. He shunned Garbrandt's technical deficits and promised to hurt Font.
I don’t know what else did you expected? Being calm not gonna compensate all of Cody’s technical flaws. I wish him to bounce back though, because I still want to kick his ass in the future. And don’t worry Rob one day I will fuck you up too, I have another business to handle now
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) May 23, 2021
Jake Paul pokes fun at Cody Garbrandt's height
Petr Yan was not the only one criticizing Cody Garbrant on Saturday night.
YouTuber, professional boxer and Internet troll Jake Paul took a shot at Garbrandt following the conclusion of UFC Vegas 27.
what’s worse
— GOTCHA HAT (@jakepaul) May 23, 2021
cody losing
or
him not being able to ride roller coasters due to height requirements ?
Dana White undecided on next UFC strawweight title challenger
Carla Esparza made a compelling case for a title shot following her TKO win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 27, but UFC President Dana White is not totally convinced.
White, appearing on the UFC post-show, confirmed there was still debate as to who will get the next crack at UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas — either Esparza or Zhang Weili.
“She looked like a beast tonight. She came out and absolutely dominated. You can tell by the way she was fighting that she was trying to make a statement. Statement made. Message received. We see you," White said (h/t MMA Fighting). “I don’t know what we’re going to do next. If we do the rematch [witih Zhang Weili] or if we give it to her.”
Esparza defeated Namajunas in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 20 to be crowned the inaugural UFC women's strawweight champion. Since then, Namajunas has become a two-time divisional champion while Esparza worked her way back to a title shot.
Pros React to Paul Felder's retirement
Paul Felder announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Saturday's broadcast and his fellow fighters are in their feels.
Michael Chiesa, Belal Muhammad and two-fight UFC veteran CM Punk are among those who paid their respects to Felder on Twitter. Take a look below at the tweets.
Not only is @felderpaul one of the real genuine good guys in this sport, he’s also a rare breed of fighter you don’t see often. A fierce competitor through and through. Fans were always in for a treat when The Irish Dragon was on the card. Congrats on an amazing career doc!
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) May 23, 2021
--
Congrats my brother @felderpaul amazing career but this isn’t the end of pauly paul
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) May 23, 2021
Noooooo!!! @felderpaul you gotta have one more with @BrendanFitzTV in your corner --
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) May 23, 2021
Thanks @felderpaul enjoy life
— C H----T O VERA (@chitoveraUFC) May 23, 2021
— player/coach (@CMPunk) May 23, 2021
Guys after seeing Me and @felderpaul , @bullyb170 just retired. Ima talk to him tho @ufc, don’t worry I got this!!
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) May 23, 2021
Congrats on a great career @felderpaul I’m a fan of your work inside and outside the octagon --
— Shane Burgos (@HurricaneShaneB) May 23, 2021
Legend ---- @felderpaul Thank you for all the years of great fights! #irishdragon
— Cynthia Calvillo (@cyn_calvillo) May 23, 2021
What a career @felderpaul -- #ufc
— Max Griffin (@MaxPainGriffin) May 23, 2021
It was an honor watching you compete and training alongside you @felderpaul ! Enjoy retirement --
— Lando Vannata (@GroovyLando) May 23, 2021
Felder always brought it. Congrats on a amazing career
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) May 23, 2021
Congrats on the retirement @felderpaul fun fact Paul and I are 2x “mma Eskimo brothers” (beating 2 of the same opponents)... cheers man -- #UFCVegas27
— Billy Q (@BillyQMMA) May 23, 2021
Too bad would of loved a match up with Paul Felder. #UFCVegas27
— John Wayne Makdessi (@JohnMakdessi) May 23, 2021
All respect to you @felderpaul ----. Nothing but love to you man ------
— Andre Ewell (@daii24_dre) May 23, 2021
UFC Vegas 27 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totals $158,000
Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for Saturday's card totalled $158,000 amongst the night's athletes.
"The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy," per MMA Junkie.
Rob Font: $11,000
def. Cody Garbrandt: $11,000Carla Esparza: $11,000
def. Yan Xiaonan: $6,000Jared Vanderaa: $4,000
def. Justin Tafa: $4,500Norma Dumont: $4,000
def. Felicia Spencer: $4,500Ricardo Ramos: $6,000
def. Bill Algeo: $4,000Jack Hermansson: $11,000
def. Edmen Shahbazyan: $6,000Ben Rothwell: $16,000
def. Chris Barnett: $4,000Court McGee: $16,000
def. Claudio Silva: $6,000Bruno Silva: $4,500
def. Victor Rodriguez: $4,000Josh Culibao: $4,000
def. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke: $4,000David Dvorak: $4,000
def. Juancamilo Ronderos: $4,000Damir Ismagulov: $4,500
def. Rafael Alves: $4,000
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates, and predictions.