After a year away from the cage, Rob Font returned to the bantamweight picture with a bang Saturday.

At UFC Fight Night 183, Font (18-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) brutalized former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes en route to a violent TKO at 3:47 of Round 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Font’s victory didn’t come easy, however. Prior to his mid-round onslaught, Font was largely controlled for the majority of the fight. Battling through the adversity, Font worked his way up to his feet.

After he ate a combination, Font found the mark with a variety of punches – especially his jab, which stunned Moraes (23-8-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) multiple times. Moraes absorbed a tremendous amount of damage before referee Marc Goddard stepped in to call off the fight.

Font’s win comes on the heels of a layoff due to an ACL injury suffered against Ricky Simon in December 2019. The victory moves his win streak to three.

As for Moraes, he has now lost two in a row – and three of his past four. Prior to the defeat to Font, Moraes lost in October when he was wheel-kicked by Cory Sandhagen.

SCARY striking display by @RobSFont to finish Marlon Moraes #UFCVegas17 pic.twitter.com/TI1rqkH9s1

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 20, 2020

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 183 results include:

• Rob Font def. Marlon Moraes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:47
• Greg Hardy def. Marcin Tybura via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 4:31
• Anthony Pettis def. Alex Morono via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Pannie Kianzad def. Sijara Eubanks via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Deron Winn def. Antonio Arroyo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Taila Santos def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)
• Tafon Nchukwi def. Jamie Pickett via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
• Jimmy Flick def. Cody Durden via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:18
• Christos Giagos def. Carlton Minus via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-28)