UFC on FOX 18 video recap: Rothwell submits Barnett in second round

Ben Rothwell scored a huge victory by tapping out former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett in the UFC on FOX 18 co-main event.

The co-main event of UFC on FOX 18 featured the big boys, as former heavyweight champion Josh Barnett faced veteran Ben Rothwell.

In a surprising result, if only in method of victory as opposed to the actual winner, Rothwell locked in what he calls a “gogo choke” on Barnett, forcing the “Warmaster” to tap to a submission hold for the first time in his entire MMA career. There wasn’t much to separate the two over the course of the contest until Rothwell pulled off the submission.

Official result: Ben Rothwell def. Josh Barnett via submission (gogo choke) at 3:48 of round 2

What was the high point of the fight?

The wrestling and grappling exchanges were the most notable ones, and pretty much spelled the end of the fight. It was obviously Barnett’s comfort zone as a long-time catch wrestler and jiu-jitsu black belt, and Rothwell has shown some progress in these areas, as well.

Rothwell was beginning to heat up in the stand-up exchange late in the second, which made Barnett change things up by shooting for a single. The tides, however, went against his favor, as Rothwell was keen enough to position himself for a gogo choke, which he successfully locked in.

Where do these two go from here?

Rothwell has won his last four fights via stoppage, against formidable opponents. Two of those victories ended in the first round. With both Velasquez and Werdum out of the picture for now, a fight between him against either Browne or Arlovski could be a good next option. A win over either one shoots him up the rankings, and if he plays his cards right, even a title shot, down the line.

At 38 years old, Barnett has proven that he can still compete at a high level. And he is, after all, the same age as current champion Fabricio Werdum, which means a title shot or a title itself is not impossible for him to achieve.

Just for nostalgia’s sake, it would be great to see a rematch between Barnett and Mark Hunt (pending his fight with Frank Mir in March). It could be a classic between two old school fighters who can both dish out and take a good amount of punishment.

Watch now, later, or never?

If you are a fan of excellent submission techniques in particular, this would be one of the good ones to watch. Rothwell is listed as a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, but the manner of how he executed the choke against a fighter like Barnett was definitely high-level.

That was absolutely insane. Ben Rothwell just submitted Josh Barnett! Incredible! #UFCNewJersey https://t.co/xrMhWzY4bE

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 31, 2016

Ben Rothwell scored a huge victory by tapping out former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett in the UFC on FOX 18 co-main event.

The co-main event of UFC on FOX 18 featured the big boys, as former heavyweight champion Josh Barnett faced veteran Ben Rothwell.

In a surprising result, if only in method of victory as opposed to the actual winner, Rothwell locked in what he calls a “gogo choke” on Barnett, forcing the “Warmaster” to tap to a submission hold for the first time in his entire MMA career. There wasn’t much to separate the two over the course of the contest until Rothwell pulled off the submission.

Official result: Ben Rothwell def. Josh Barnett via submission (gogo choke) at 3:48 of round 2

What was the high point of the fight?

The wrestling and grappling exchanges were the most notable ones, and pretty much spelled the end of the fight. It was obviously Barnett’s comfort zone as a long-time catch wrestler and jiu-jitsu black belt, and Rothwell has shown some progress in these areas, as well.

Rothwell was beginning to heat up in the stand-up exchange late in the second, which made Barnett change things up by shooting for a single. The tides, however, went against his favor, as Rothwell was keen enough to position himself for a gogo choke, which he successfully locked in.

Where do these two go from here?

Rothwell has won his last four fights via stoppage, against formidable opponents. Two of those victories ended in the first round. With both Velasquez and Werdum out of the picture for now, a fight between him against either Browne or Arlovski could be a good next option. A win over either one shoots him up the rankings, and if he plays his cards right, even a title shot, down the line.

At 38 years old, Barnett has proven that he can still compete at a high level. And he is, after all, the same age as current champion Fabricio Werdum, which means a title shot or a title itself is not impossible for him to achieve.

Just for nostalgia’s sake, it would be great to see a rematch between Barnett and Mark Hunt (pending his fight with Frank Mir in March). It could be a classic between two old school fighters who can both dish out and take a good amount of punishment.

Watch now, later, or never?

If you are a fan of excellent submission techniques in particular, this would be one of the good ones to watch. Rothwell is listed as a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, but the manner of how he executed the choke against a fighter like Barnett was definitely high-level.