Josh Barnett and Ben Rothwell will collide this Saturday (Jan. 30, 2016) at UFC on FOX 18 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In a match up of technician and brawler, what adjustments must be made for either man to claim victory? Find out below!
Top 1-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight contenders Josh Barnett and Ben Rothwell will go to war this Saturday (Jan. 30, 2016) at UFC on FOX 18 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
After losing his second fight back inside the Octagon, Barnett spent nearly two years on the sideline. Though some worried how the now-38 year old combatant would perform, Barnett exceeded expectations and battered his opponent for 25 straight minutes.
Meanwhile, Rothwell finally turned his middling success inside the Octagon into a real win streak. He’s finished his last three opponents and looked better than ever, and now Rothwell is hoping to close in on a title shot.
Let’s take a look at the keys to victory for both men:
Josh Barnett
Record: 33-7
Key Wins: Frank Mir (UFC 164), Roy Nelson (UFC Fight Night 75), Randy Couture (UFC 36), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pride Final Conflict Absolute)
Key Losses: Travis Browne (UFC 168), Daniel Cormier (Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier), Mirko Filipovic (Pride
28, Pride 30, Pride Final Conflict Absolute),
Keys to Victory: Barnett has spent many years terrorizing the Heavyweight division with his brutal form of submission grappling, known as catch-wrestling, which has helped him submit 20 of his opponents. However, he’s relied far more upon his violent clinch fighting recently.
That’s not a bad strategy here. Rothwell — despite his somewhat awkward movements — is actually a really athletic and deceptively quick Heavyweight. If Barnett tries to force his takedowns early, he could leave himself vulnerable to his opportunistic opponent’s attacks.
However, Barnett showed a great deal of depth in his dirty boxing technique in his last fight. Not only did he do excellent work with knees, elbows, and punches once he was inside, but he closed the distance safely with smart setups.
Besides being Barnett’s most effective path to doing damage, forcing his opponent to work in the clinch will exhaust Rothwell. When “Big Ben” gets tired, his takedown defense definitely suffers, and Barnett is definitely someone who can take advantage.
VS.
Ben Rothwell
Record: 35-9
Key Wins: Alistair Overeem (UFC Fight Night 50), Matt Mitrione (UFC Fight Night 58), Brendan Schaub (UFC 145)
Key Losses: Gabriel Gonzaga (UFC on FX 7), Mark Hunt (UFC 135), Cain Velasquez (UFC 104)
Keys to Victory: Rothwell has been doing this for a long, long time. He had a great run back when the International Fight League (IFL) was a fairly major organization but struggled early in his UFC career.
Fifteen years deep into his professional career, Rothwell has definitely grown into a smarter fighter. Whereas before Rothwell was a physical wrestler who caught men off-guard with his speed or simply out-brawled his opponents, Rothwell now has a greater focus on defense and looks to trade on his terms.
In this bout, Rothwell needs to make sure he’s working for his distance. While he’s an effective clinch striker, that’s not an aspect of his game that as technical as his opponent. Plus, it puts him in range of Barnett’s takedowns, which is not ideal for “Big Ben.”
Instead, Rothwell needs to keep this fight in the boxing range. Luckily, with Barnett doing his best to close the distance, Rothwell shouldn’t have a problem landing punches. He just needs to careful not to over-commit and crowd himself, as Barnett’s forward movement should provide plenty of power for his punches.
If Rothwell can catch his opponent coming in, there’s great potential for another highlight reel knockout.
Bottom Line: Both of these men seem to have put it all together and are closing in on a title shot, but this is not yet a title eliminator bout.
Unfortunately for both men, the Heavyweight division is rather random. At some times, there seems to be absolutely no one worthy of a title shot and few interesting match ups. At the moment, however, both Alistair Overeem and Stipe Miocic have a stronger claim to a title shot than the winner here, and there’s also still the potential of a Werdum-Velasquez rematch.
In short, lots of things could happen. That said, the winner certainly belongs in that mix and could find himself in a title eliminator match up with whoever does not receive the title shot.
Both men are also deep into their careers, so the stakes will always be high. Any setback is a risk, as the years of training and fighting will cause a drop off at some point. Time is not on the side of either fighter, so it’s important to keep moving forward.
At UFC on FOX 18, Josh Barnett and Ben Rothwell will scrap in the co-main event. Which fighter will continue up the Heavyweight ladder?