UFC 287 Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez: Picks & Predictions (2023)

UFC 287 gets underway this Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. This card features an incredibly deep lineup with an epic title fight set to take place in the main event.

Prior to the Pereira/Adesanya rematch, there is a bantamweight bout set to take place on the main card between Rob Font and Adrian Yanez. An up-and-comer riding a six-fight win streak in the UFC, Yanez opened up as a -165 favorite and has since been bet up to his current price of -190.

Below, I walk through the betting profile of each fighter and make my best bet for this bantamweight bout. The play below is 1 unit, or 1% of your betting bankroll.

UFC 287 Best Bet for Font vs. Yanez

Betting Profile: Rob Font (19-6 Overall / 9-5 UFC)

Last Five Fights (L-L-W-W-W)

After gaining a ton of steam between 2018 and 2021, veteran Rob Font rode a four-fight win streak before dropping each of his last two bouts via unanimous decision. Those losses came against one of the best bantamweights ever in Jose Aldo and against the current number five bantamweight contender in Marlon Vera.

Due to the status of those two individuals he lost to and his prior success before that, Font still finds himself as the number six contender in an absolutely loaded bantamweight division. Preferring to stand-and-bang, Font is a striker who throws in high-volume, landing 6.38 significant strikes per minute since joining the UFC.

However, perhaps his most famous attribute is his iron-chin. Despite facing some absolute killers in his career, Font has never been knocked out.

Betting Profile: Adrian Yanez (16-3 Overall / 6-0 UFC)

Last Five Fights: (W-W-W-W-W)

Font’s iron-chin is certainly going to be put to the test against Yanez, the number 12 contender in the bantamweight division and a real up-and-comer with crazy power. Not only is Yanez riding a six-fight win streak since joining the UFC, but five of those six wins have come via knockout.

In fact, 10 of Yanez’s 16 professional wins have come via knockout. However, when the judges’ input is needed, he does not typically fare as well with a 4-3 record in fights that go the distance.

In fights that do not go the distance? Yanez is a spotless 12-0.

Like Font, Yanez prefers to stand-and-bang. Not only has Yanez not landed a takedown since joining the UFC, but he has yet to even attempt one.

Bottom Line

This fight has all the makings for a terrific scrap, especially considering the most likely style of fight is that they are just going to go into the octagon and slug it out. However, even with that in mind, I am targeting the total in this fight and taking this bout to go over 2.5 rounds at -105.

There is no doubt that Yanez’s power is a massive concern, but it is strength-versus-strength and his power will be tested like never before against Font and his iron-chin. On the flip side, Yanez looks to be the superior striker and has also never been knocked out.

Six of Font’s last seven fights have gone the distance, and he has survived crazy amounts of damage to the likes of Marlon Vera. If Font can survive three knockdowns and 159 significant strikes from Chito across a five-round scrap, then it is not far fetched to believe that he can survive three rounds against Yanez.

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