Rob Font Admits Giving Up in First John Lineker Fight

Rob Font will have a chance at redemption when he faces John Linker for the second time at UFC Greenville this Saturday. Font lost the first encounter by unanimous decision in 2016. In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Font shared what he learned from that experience in Curitiba, Brazil:

“I’ve learned, probably after that Lineker fight, I’m not training for any of these guys,” Font told Bloody Elbow. “I’m training for myself. I’m training for a guy trying to punch me and to not let him punch me; I’m training for a guy trying to take me down and to stop the takedown; or me taking someone down. I never train for specific styles. I’m training everything all the time.”

More than the tactical lessons derived from the first fight, the biggest thing Rob Font took away from that initial run-in with Lineker is to never stop believing in oneself and to never let the external distractions influence or alter inner reassurances:

“I gave up on myself toward the second round,” Font said. “I didn’t know how to deal with the crowd, I didn’t know how to deal with the emotions. I got totally distracted. I wasn’t focused at all. I remember looking at a green shirt in the crowd, like, ‘What am I doing? Why am I looking at this shirt? I gotta fight. I got John Lineker trying to throw bombs and I’m focusing on this green shirt.’ I just wasn’t there.”

Both John Lineker and the Greenville crowd can expect a different, more dialed in Rob Font on this go-round, as the Massachusetts native will be zeroed in on his second straight victory off the heels of a unanimous nod of Sergio Pettis last December:

“I’m a little more confident, more focused,” Font said. “I’ve been a little more patient and a little smarter. I’m more confident in my skills.”