[autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] gave [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] a rude introduction to the heavyweight division Wednesday when he emerged victorious from the UFC on ESPN+ 29 co-main event.
Rothwell (38-12 MMA, 8-6 UFC) implemented a methodical game plan over the course of three rounds to suck the energy out of Saint Preux (24-14 MMA, 12-9 UFC), who was making his first appearance in the UFC’s biggest weight class. It paid off, as the veteran Rothwell picked up the split decision win by scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28.
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It was something of a feeling-out process in the first minute of the fight. Saint Preux was obviously trying to use a lot of movement against a bigger opponent, but Rothwell seemed to find his range in the early stages of the frame, tagging Saint Preux with some good shots. Saint Preux avoided taking anything truly damaging, and prevented himself from being locked into Rothwell’s signature Go-Go choke, but he did almost nothing offensive in opening five minutes.
Saint Preux upped his activity in the early stages of the second round. He peppered Rothwell with some strong body kicks and a few punches. Rothwell responded with punching combinations, though, and was relentless in using tactics that put size to his advantage. Rothwell used kicks, walked forward and leaned on Saint Preux against the fence. Saint Preux had a huge moment in the final seconds of the frame, finally letting go and scoring a flash knockdown of Rothwell that made the round much closer than it would’ve been otherwise.
Rothwell went right back to the approach that worked for him in the final round. He kept on Saint Preux and closed the distance, working away with knees in the clinch and punches and kicks when in range. Saint Preux found openings to land counter punches to keep himself in the fight, but Rothwell absorbed all without getting significantly fazed to take the victory on the scorecards.
After the win, Rothwell called out Aleksei Oleinik, who is coming off a win over Fabricio Werdum at UFC 249 this past weekend.
“Mr. Oleinik, you asked for a big fight,” Rothwell said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I’m ‘Big Ben,’ so there you go.”
The heavyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 29 co-main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It streamed on ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 29 results include:
- Ben Rothwell def. Ovince Saint via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Drew Dober def. Alexander Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:25
- Ricky Simon def. Ray Borg via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andrei Arlovski def. Phillipe Lins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Thiago Moises def. Michael Johnson via submission (heel hook) – Round 2, 0:25
- Sijara Eubanks def. Sarah Moras via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Omar Morales def. Gabriel Benitez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Brian Kelleher def. Hunter Azure via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 3:42
- Chase Sherman def. Ike Villanueva via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:49
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