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By Anthony Berriola, MMATorch Specialist
So this is my first contribution to MMATorch and I thought it would be better to pick a popular undercard fight to compare, thus giving you some more insight into two fighters whom you may or may not know much about. This fight is very intriguing to me. We have two very big guys with two completely different styles that could force this fight into a quick slugfest or long drawn out chess match. Either way, it should be pretty interesting. Let's examine the fighters styles and experiences...
I predict Cain Velasquez will be the majority vote and UFC fan favorite for this fight, considering he is building his name in The Octagon. With a professional record of 6-0, five of those wins coming by way of knockout, it's no secret that this guy can stand up and bang. He is coming off a big win against Check Kongo in UFC 99 by way of 3rd round decision, which was his toughest opponent throughout his new pro career.
Putting aside his proven KO capabilities, he is as comfortable on the ground as he is in his own bed. He is a former two-time collegiate All-American wrestler from Arizona State and two-time 5A state high school champion. He is currently training at the American Kicboxing Academy. With proven fist power and and strong mat skills, he is no doubt more well-rounded than he has shown us in the cage.
Big Ben Rothwell is a former IFL veteran and was picked up by UFC after the Affliction League when under. Standing 6-5 pushing 265 lbs., this dude clearly wins the advantage in the stature category over 6-1 Velasquez. His pro record is 30-6 with 14 of his last 15 fights coming out victorious, the sole loss came by way of 3rd round KO against Andrei Arlovski.
Although his style is kickboxing, he is training out of the Pat Militich Academy. With any Militich fighter, you can expect that his wrestling game to be fast improving. On paper, he is the more experienced of the two fighters and carries a fairly well-rounded skill set with 17 of his wins by KO and 11 by submission.
Both fighters will answer the opening bell with two completely separate gameplans. Although Velasquez is chalking up a resume full of KOs, you can expect him to feel out the distance before wanting to take it to the ground where he is more experienced. It just isn't logical for him to stand and bang with an opponent that has a significant reach advantage and leg kicks like swinging tree trunks. Also, we saw Velasquez toe up with the bigger Kongo in UFC 99 and exposed somewhat of a weak chin when it comes to eating punches from the bigger guys.
This gives Rothwell a little more incentive to stay on his feet and plug away, rather than hit the mat where Velasquez dominated the Kongo fight to victory but couldn't put him away (we all know Kongo is a fish out of water on the mat and I am not putting him and Rothwell in the same category on the ground). Rothwell's win resume boasts great submission skills, but I feel Velasquez's wrestling game proves to be strong enough to control the ground-game, even against the bigger guys, and will stifle any Jiu Jitsu attempts Big Ben throws his way.
Rothwell has plenty of fights under his belt and the Militich Academy is somewhat of a bootcamp, so conditioning shouldn't be an issue in this fight. He just needs to keep his composure and not get sloppy on his feet an he could very well produce a KO over Velasquez. However, one mistake could open himself up for one of Cain's powerful rights. I hope for good things in this fight and am curious to see if strategy will slow the pace of these big guy or just frustrate one of them into a mistake that opens up opportunity for victory.
MY PREDICTION: Velasquez ground and pounds his way to a decision victory.
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(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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