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Some preliminary notes:
The fight took place at high altitude, in Denver, Colorado.
It happened at the time when Mark Hunt improved his submission defence, but didn't improve enough his TDD.
Prior to it, Ben Rothwell fought Gilbert Yvel who he basically held down for 15 minutes.
Gameplans:
Rothwell - repeat Yvel fight, hold Hunt down
Hunt - stand and bang
First round was going at a high pace. Rothwell was striking just enough to set up takedowns. Hunt stuffed some of them, but was taken down nevertheless. Neither man showed any signs of gassing.
Second round saw the shifting of momentum. Something happened with Rothwell. He suddenly started to move slower and didn't seem to have the same power in his strikes and in his takedowns. Hunt actually felt tired too, because instead of punishing an easy target he switched to wrestling himself. Hunt basically spent half of a round in Rothwell's guard battering the giant with short shots. Rothwell was so exhausted that Hunt almost submitted him with an armbar!
Third round initially fit the same narrative. Rothwell was moving forward like a zombie. Hunt snarled at him with single shots and occasionally shot for takedowns. At one point Rothwell literally stood near the fence with his hands down inviting Hunt to engage. So it was going, until the last 30 seconds. Hunt shot for a takedown yet again, Rothwell sprawled. Then he grabbed Hunt's neck in a very familiar manner. I think he was trying to perform his patended gogo choke, just didn't have the energy to complete it. He abandoned the choke and spun around to force Hunt into flopping to his back. Seemed like Rothwell found the energy out of nowhere... but the round ended.
Thoughts:
Rothwell was doing OK, until he gassed hard. His gassing can be attributed to high altitude combined with a lot of wrestling which isn't his preferred area of fighting. Hunt learned from the fight and improved his TDD defence.
I hope, the myth of Rothwell non-existent cardio can be put to rest. He is fine unless he's dragged into prolonged wrestling or clinch battles.
P. S. Obligatory gif:
The fight took place at high altitude, in Denver, Colorado.
It happened at the time when Mark Hunt improved his submission defence, but didn't improve enough his TDD.
Prior to it, Ben Rothwell fought Gilbert Yvel who he basically held down for 15 minutes.
Gameplans:
Rothwell - repeat Yvel fight, hold Hunt down
Hunt - stand and bang
First round was going at a high pace. Rothwell was striking just enough to set up takedowns. Hunt stuffed some of them, but was taken down nevertheless. Neither man showed any signs of gassing.
Second round saw the shifting of momentum. Something happened with Rothwell. He suddenly started to move slower and didn't seem to have the same power in his strikes and in his takedowns. Hunt actually felt tired too, because instead of punishing an easy target he switched to wrestling himself. Hunt basically spent half of a round in Rothwell's guard battering the giant with short shots. Rothwell was so exhausted that Hunt almost submitted him with an armbar!
Third round initially fit the same narrative. Rothwell was moving forward like a zombie. Hunt snarled at him with single shots and occasionally shot for takedowns. At one point Rothwell literally stood near the fence with his hands down inviting Hunt to engage. So it was going, until the last 30 seconds. Hunt shot for a takedown yet again, Rothwell sprawled. Then he grabbed Hunt's neck in a very familiar manner. I think he was trying to perform his patended gogo choke, just didn't have the energy to complete it. He abandoned the choke and spun around to force Hunt into flopping to his back. Seemed like Rothwell found the energy out of nowhere... but the round ended.
Thoughts:
Rothwell was doing OK, until he gassed hard. His gassing can be attributed to high altitude combined with a lot of wrestling which isn't his preferred area of fighting. Hunt learned from the fight and improved his TDD defence.
I hope, the myth of Rothwell non-existent cardio can be put to rest. He is fine unless he's dragged into prolonged wrestling or clinch battles.
P. S. Obligatory gif:
Last edited:
