Ben Rothwell Submits Josh Barnett with Surprising Gogo Choke at UFC on Fox 18

Ben Rothwell (36-9) and Josh Barnett (34-8) came into UFC on Fox 18 with a lot on the line on Saturday in New Jersey. The heavyweight title picture was crowded, but there were few serious standout names and no clear top contender.
Making matters m…

Ben Rothwell (36-9) and Josh Barnett (34-8) came into UFC on Fox 18 with a lot on the line on Saturday in New Jersey. The heavyweight title picture was crowded, but there were few serious standout names and no clear top contender.

Making matters more complicated, both men are riding very tenuous waves of momentum at a relatively advanced age. A big win could have easily vaulted either man into a title shot while a loss could have been irreparably damaging.

One man’s dreams would die. The other’s would survive.

Round 1 was a Bellator-caliber affair. Rothwell pressed forward with his hands spread out in an odd stance as Barnett backpedaled or attempted to clinch. Neither man mounted serious offense, and the crowd made their dissatisfaction obvious with an outpouring of boos.

Round 2 looked to be more of the same. Rothwell pushed forward, pumping his hand, and Barnett tried to work his wrestling.

Then the fight ended. Out of nowhere. It was that fast.

Barnett ended up on the mat, and Rothwell slapped on what has become his go-to submission, the gogo choke. The former champ would shockingly tap, giving him the first submission loss of his 19-year career. The fact that a crafty veteran like Barnett was forced to tap shows how vicious the gogo choke truly is, as Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com discussed on Twitter:

The result is a massive shakeup in the heavyweight division. While Stipe Miocic (14-2), Alistair Overeem (40-14) and Cain Velasquez (13-2) all have claims to a heavyweight title shot, Rothwell just strengthened his claim to the on-paper, top-contender spot.

Now, riding a four-fight winning streak (with all of those wins coming via stoppage), it’s hard to make a case against him being the next man to face current UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum (20-5).

Here are some other notes and thoughts for the bouts:

  • Unfortunately, Rothwell didn’t do anything wacky after the fight. The memory of his “I Knocked Out Overeem” dance and absurd post-fight interview after he beat Matt Mitrione still live on.
  • Rothwell is the first fighter to score back-to-back wins via gogo choke. It’s such a rarely used move that it’s hard to imagine anybody else pulling that off.
  • Poor, poor Josh Barnett. The Warmaster jumped into title contention with his strong performance against Roy Nelson (20-12), but it’s unlikely that he’ll bounce back from this loss to Rothwell. It’s easy to wonder where his fighting future lies.

Unless otherwise noted, all records courtesy of ESPN.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com