How time training with Zahabi at Tristar helped Rob Font prepare for UFC Seattle

SEATTLE — Residing in New England, snow was never an issue for Rob Font, but now that he’s doing his training camps at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, the constant winter precipitation has become the bane of his existence.

“I hate the snow, man; it snowed every day,” he said with a laugh, speaking with Sportsnet in Seattle, where he’s set to take on Jean Matsumoto on Saturday’s main card. “Obviously I’m used to the snow, coming from Boston, but it snowed every single day.”

While the non-stop snowfall and the occasional traffic stand out as challenges, everything else about this major professional change has clicked so far for the 37-year-old bantamweight.

A founding member of the New England Cartel, Font felt it was time for a change coming out of a 2023 campaign that saw him drop back-to-back fights against Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo. His footing in the ultra-competitive division wasn’t as sure as it once was, and with a wave of ascending talents nipping at his heels, the top-15 mainstay at 135 pounds began pondering where he could go to kickstart a return to form and helped him get things moving in the right direction again.

After recalling an earlier meeting and invitation to come through from Firas Zahabi, he reached out about taking him up on the offer, and made his way to Montreal to train for the first time last year ahead of his bout with Kyler Phillips. Though he dropped the opening round on all three scorecards, the divisional stalwart leaned on his experience and preparation to draw level in the second and seal up a victory in the third, cementing his desire to return to la belle province for future training camps.

“It’s always tough to switch it up like that, but I just felt at the time like it was the right timing,” Font said of parting ways with his long-time team in favour of camps spent in Quebec. “I met Firas in 2016 after my Matt Schnell fight — he threw out the offer, but at the time, I wasn’t ready to make a move, travel like that.

“When I started thinking, ‘Where should I go?’ he popped up in my mind. I reached out, he was like, ‘Of course; come down.’

“At first I was a little hesitant because obviously his brother’s out there and he’s another ’35er,” continued Font, referencing streaking UFC bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi, who currently sits five spots behind his new teammate in the bantamweight rankings. “But Aiemann has been another (great teammate).”

In addition to the camaraderie in the room and the good-natured torment one gets for missing a session, Font pointed to coach Zahabi’s constant presence in the gym, growth mindset, and open-minded approach to figuring out the best way forward as the elements that have truly stuck out to him through his first two camps in the third-floor fight factory in the nondescript building on Ferrier Street.

“I like the way Firas thinks, I love the way he teaches, his leadership; he’s nonstop,” Font said. “If anything, he works more than the fighters — he’s teaching classes, holding pads; he’s non-stop and he’s learning all the time. He was just out in California learning new stuff, and the first day we came back from (Calvin Kattar’s recent) fight, he was showing us new stuff.

“I just think it’s that they know,” continued Font, who carries a 21-8 record into the Octagon this weekend against 16-0 Matsumoto. “They know what they’re doing, they know what they want to do. They’re not guessing, they’re not hoping; it’s ‘this is exactly how we’re doing it.’

“They’re always looking for options, and we’re gonna figure out which one works and go with it.”

Figuring out which approach will be the one that works has been a little more difficult this time around.

Initially, Font was scheduled to face off with Dominick Cruz in what was to be the former two-time champion’s final foray into the Octagon. Unfortunately, Cruz suffered a second shoulder dislocation in eight months a couple weeks prior to the fight, forcing him to withdraw from the contest and ultimately announce his retirement from the sport.

For a couple days, the 11-year UFC veteran sat without an opponent, unsure whether or not he would still make the walk this weekend. Thankfully, he had his teammate Calvin Kattar’s fight last weekend with Youssef Zalal to focus on while waiting to find out his fate.

“It sucks,” he said with a laugh when asked about that uncertain time between Cruz announcing he was out and having this weekend’s meeting with Matsumoto confirmed. “I’m not trying to be tough or anything like that, but I’ve dealt with this so many times that I’m almost used to it. I really don’t believe I’m fighting until I get out there, until we’re walking; I’ve seen so many freak accidents happen.

“It was easy having Calvin’s fight as a distraction. I was like, ‘I can calm down a little bit, we’ve got Calvin coming forward, so let’s focus on that, and something will happen.’ I knew Tyson (Chartier, his manager) would eventually get me a name.

“They threw a couple names out there, none of them bit, and then Jean Matsumoto jumped in,” he added. “Now it’s official and we gotta get to the fight. Hopefully everything goes smooth with the weight cut, I’ll make that walk, clock back in, and get ready to work.”

Shifting from Cruz to Matsumoto is a complete 180 in terms of experience and approach.

Where Cruz is a tactical striker with tremendous movement and a resume that will lead to his being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in the very near future, the Brazilian is just two fights into his UFC career, and a little less tricky to deal with when it comes to trying to decipher what he’ll be looking to do inside the Octagon on Saturday.

“It’s the completely opposite fight,” Font began, shaking his head in amusement at the polar opposites he’s been connected to for this one. “Cruz is a little more tactical, a little more tricky. With (Matsumoto), he’s a little more straightforward. We know what we wants to do: come forward, big right hands, big left hooks; he’s chopping the legs, he’s wrestling. It’s a little more basic, but a lot more power.

“I’m not saying he’s not gonna be quick, but who moves like Dominick Cruz? Nobody moves like Dominick Cruz. This kid, he’s going with power, he’s going with leg kicks, he’s gonna shoot, so I understand that and will play around off that.”

Now setup in a classic “veteran versus prospect” battle, Font believes that his experience — and Matsumoto’s lack of defeats — will be a key to this weekend’s contest, and he’s eager to step in and show the promising, young Brazilian what it’s like to share the cage with a top-10 fighter.

“It’s funny because after I shaved my head, Aiemann was talking about some Bane quote where he says something — and I’m probably gonna mess it up — but he goes, ‘Your past victories have made you soft,’” began Font, sharing an interaction with his new teammate cribbed from The Dark Knight Rises. “The cliche is you learn more off your losses, and I wanna prove that.

“Going 16-0, obviously this is a big opportunity for him, but I feel like he hasn’t learned enough,” he added. “He hasn’t been in those dirty, dirty waters where it’s scary, and I feel like he’s gonna find out on Saturday night.”

And in order to hand Matsumoto the first loss of his pro career, all Font needs to do is lean on the skills that carried him into the top 10 in the first place.

“I just have to be myself,” he said, smiling. “Lots of lead hand. I’m gonna jab this guy’s face off, from both stances. Take my double underhooks if he shoots, and don’t be surprised if I take him down. I feel confident in my body locks, I feel confident in my double legs, in being on top, and looking for the finish.”