Roar Guru
Heavyweight: #5 Junior Dos Santos def. #4 Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis def. Gabriel Gonzaga via knockout (punches) 4:48, R1
Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou def. Curtis Blaydes via TKO (doctor stoppage) 5:00, R2
Heavyweight: Timothy Johnson def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Women’s Strawweight: Maryna Moroz def. Cristina Stanciu via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
#4 Ben Rothwell will be looking to cement his place as the next contender for the heavyweight championship when he takes on #5 Junior Dos Santos. Join The Roar from 4am AEST for live round-by-round action.
Ben Rothwell has been on an absolute roll. Coming off four straight finish wins against high level competition, Rothwell is one win away from a shot at heavyweight gold.
Rothwell’s last two wins have come via submissions over Matt Mitrione and Josh Barnett, however he also has knockout power, which he showed in wins over Alistair Overeem, Brandon Vera and Brendan Schaub.
Rothwell has been vocal in his desire to earn a title shot, and a win over former champion Junior Dos Santos would put him in prime position to get one.
Coming off a disappointing loss to Alistair Overeem, Dos Santos is on a mission to redeem himself and prove he still has what it takes to fight for the title.
The former heavyweight champion has some of the best striking in the division, with eight of his 11 UFC wins coming via knockout.
A win over Rothwell would leapfrog Dos Santos back to the top of the pile. Dos Santos has wins over both heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and number one contender Stipe Miocic, and would jump on the chance to prove he can beat them again.
Rothwell is still highly underrated, and has a great chin. However Dos Santos’ speed, power and technique in his punches should get him the finish in the end.
Prediction
Junior Dos Santos defeats Ben Rothwell via knockout in round three