UFC Vegas 53 Results, Live Coverage & Discussion: Marlon Vera Dominates Rob Font!

Welcome to Fightful.com‘s results, live coverage and discussion for UFC Vegas 53: Font vs. Vera.

We will bring you full, fight-by-fight coverage of the main card, plus quick results for tonight’s preliminary bouts. Scroll down to the Disqus boards below and chat with fellow MMA fans during the event.

Results

Main Card (ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT)

• (#8) Marlon Vera def. (#5) Rob Font via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
• Andrei Arlovski def. Jake Collier via split-decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Joanderson Brito def. Andre Fili via TKO (punches) (0:41, R1)
• Grant Dawson def. Jared Gordon via submission (rear-naked choke) (4:11, R3)
• Darren Elkins def. Tristan Connelly via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Prelims (ESPN2, 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT)

• Alexandr Romanov def. Chase Sherman via submission (Americana) (2:11, R1)
• Krzysztof Jotko def. Gerald Meerschaert via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Francisco Figueiredo def. Daniel da Silva via submission (kneebar) (1:18, R1)
• Gabe Green def. Yohan Lainesse via TKO (4:02, R2)
• Nathan Levy def. Mike Breeden via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Shanna Young def. Gina Mazany via TKO (ground-and-pound) (3:11, R2)

Play-by-Play

(#5) Rob Font vs. (#8) Marlon Vera

Round One –

Round Two –

Round Three –

Round Four –

Round Five –

Result: (#8) Marlon Vera def. (#5) Rob Font via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake Collier

Round One – Collier clinches right away and gets Arlovski against the fence. Collier lands some knees to the thigh and Arlovski powers off the fence and circles back to the center of the octagon. Collier with a 1-2, Arlovski with a low kick and both men clash heads and referee Mark Smith calls for a brief stop in the action. The fight is back on and Collier lands a low kick and then an elbow that opens up Arlovski’s cheek. Collier clinches and Arlovski quickly creates separation and lands a 1-2, Collier responds with a left hook and Arlovski misses a spinning back-fist at the buzzer, which ends the opening frame.

Round Two – Collier pops the jab to start. The fight is again quickly halted due to another head clash. It’s back on and Collier lands a 1-2, Arlovski lands an elbow then a 1-2 of his own. Collier continues to pop the jab and we get yet another head clash. The fight is again halted and quickly resumed and Collier gets the clinch and trips Arlovski to the mat. Arlovski scrambles and gets right back up, Collier presses him against the cage but Arlovski quickly slides out and gets back to the center but Collier drills him with an overhand right then a low kick. Arlovski rushes forward with a wild bevy of shots but Collier avoids most, if not all of the strikes and lands a 1-2 at the horn and this one’s going to the third and final round. 

Round Three – A quick flurry from both men start out the final frame and we have a fourth headbutt. After a timeout from the referee, he warns both fighters one last time and we’re back on…and then we have a fifth head clash…but the fight isn’t stopped and Collier drills Arlovski with a left hook then a wild flurry and connects on most of them, Arlovski fires back with a straight right, which opens Collier’s nose. Collier lands another 1-2 then clinches Arlovski and looks to hop on the back but Arlovski shrugs him off and gets back to the center of the cage. Another head clash, the referee tells both men to keep going, Collier lands a 1-2 and drags Arlovski to the mat at the buzzer and this one is headed to the judge’s scorecards.

Result: Andrei Arlovski def. Jake Collier via split-decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

Andre Fili vs. Joanderson Brito

Round One – Brito lands a low kick to start and follows it up with a pair of stinging jabs. Brito wallops Fili with an overhand right and goes right in for the finish and he gets it! Statement win by Joanderson Brito!

Result: Joanderson Brito def. Andre Fili via TKO (punches) (0:41, R1)

Jared Gordon vs. Grant Dawson

Round One – Not much lands for either and Gordon goes right in for a takedown and gets it. Dawson scrambles back to his feet and whiffs on a spin kick and Gordon lands another takedown. Gordon looks for the neck, Dawson scrambles and gets back to his feet. Gordon with a 1-2, Dawson returns fire with a right hook and Gordon pops the jab. Dawson goes for and gets a takedown and looks for the choke but the horn sounds to end a somewhat uneventful opening frame.

Round Two – Dawson goes right for a takedown, gets it and looks for the back and lands some punches from the back which opens up Gordon’s nose. Gordon explodes back to his feet but Dawson stays locked-up and shoved Gordon to the cage and lands a knee to the mid-section. Gordon shoves Dawson back but walks into a 1-2 from him. Dawson dives right back in and gets another takedown and the buzzer sounds to end yet another pretty dull round.

Round Three – Gordon comes out aggressive early, seemingly knowing he needs a finish to get the win. Dawson gets on his bike and avoids the early surge from Gordon. Dawson goes for a low kick but Gordon checks it, Dawson goes for another takedown, Gordon stuffs the attempt and cracks Dawson with a 1-2. Dawson shoots right back in but Gordon stuffs it and we have a pause in the action for a kick that went a little too low. The fight is quickly resumed and Dawson goes for another takedown but Gordon stuffs it once again. Dawson drills Gordon with an elbow and it opens Gordon ul pretty badly. Dawson starts teeing off on Gordon and Gordon ducks under a spinning back-fist from Dawson and shoves Dawson to the mat but Dawson grabs a leg and trips Gordon to the mat, gets immediate back control and locks in the rear-naked choke and Gordon taps!

Result: Grant Dawson def. Jared Gordon via submission (rear-naked choke) (4:11, R3)

Darren Elkins vs. Tristan Connelly

Round One – Elkins comes out the aggressor early, lands a perfectly-timed takedown and gets this one to mat early. Elkins goes for a head-and-arm choke, Connelly stays composed and gets out of danger. Elkins looks for some ground-and-pound, Connelly slides out and gets this one back to the feet but not for long as Elkins is relentless and drags Connelly right back down to the mat. Connelly’s aggressive off his back and lands a few shots and looks for the kneebar but Elkins backs off, both men get back to the feet and unload a wild exchange until the buzzer sounds to end round number one.

Round Two – Elkins looks for another early takedown but Connelly’s alert to it and stuffs the attempt. Connelly lands a low kick, Elkins initiates the clinch but Connelly fights himself off the fence with a 1-2. Elkins unloads a combination and ends it with a stinging low kick. Elkins gets another takedown, Connelly goes right for a guillotine but lets go and Elkins unloads some heavy shots of ground-and-pound. Connelly rolls to his stomach, Elkins grabs the back but Connelly slides out from under Elkins and gets back to his feet. Elkins cracks Connelly with a pair of overhand rights, Connelly’s shoved to the fence and grabs it which causes referee Jason Herzog to briefly stop the bout and warns Connelly. The fight’s back on and Elkins looks for a takedown but Connelly shoves him back and lands a slick 1-2 at the horn and this one is head to a third and final round.

Round Three – Connelly opens with a flying knee attempt but Elkins evades and snaps Connelly’s head back with a right hand that opens up a cut underneath Connelly’s right eye. Elkins clinches, both men wallop each other with slicing elbows, Connelly pushed Elkins to the fence but Elkins sends Connelly back with a heavy left hook, Connelly fires back with a head kick that lands, Elkins dives in and gets a takedown, Connelly goes to his stomach, Elkins looks for the back but switches to ground-and-pound and looks for a last-second choke but Connelly survives and this one is headed to the judge’s scorecards.

Result: Darren Elkins def. Tristan Connelly via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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