UFC Fight Night 68: Ben Rothwell vs. Matt Mitrione Preview
UFC Fight Night 68 is set to go down tomorrow night (June 6, 2015) from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the co-main event of the evening, we have a matchup between two surging heavyweights looking to cement themselves on the short list of title contenders, as No. 9-ranked “Big” Ben Rothwell meets No. 13-ranked Matt “Meathead” Mitrione.
Both men have looked phenomenal as of late, and both men are very-well rounded, which should produce fireworks tomorrow. Check out the LowKickMMA Ben Rothwell vs. Matt Mitrione preview below:
Striking:
Both of these men possess brutal power in their hands, with Rothwell tallying up an outstanding 20 knockouts in 34 wins, and Mitrione having nine of his 12 wins come by way of knockout. “Big Ben” has also won his last two fights by knockout, and “Meathead” has scored three-straight first-round knockouts in his recent stretch.
Despite Rothwell’s long list of knockout victims, I actually believe that Mitrione is the superior striker. The former NFL player is a black belt in Shotokan Karate, is much more crisp and fluent with his combinations, and possesses very smooth footwork and lateral movement that other heavyweights don’t. “Meathead” also lands more significant strikes per minute (3.86 to Rothwell’s 2.76) and is more accurate with his strikes (51.20% to Rothwell’s 44.43%), and that’s why I give him the advantage here. 60-40 Mitrione.
Takedowns:
Neither man is known for his wrestling skills, as Mitrione actually averages zero takedowns per bout. Rothwell is not too active with his takedowns either, only averaging 1.12 takedowns per bout, while landing 36.36% of them, and defending 67.50% of takedowns attempted against him. “Meathead”, due to his movement, is not an easy man to drag to the mat and boasts a 57.69% defense rating of his own. I don’t expect either man to shoot in for a takedown, but Rothwell would have to get just the slightest bit advantage. 55-45 for “Big Ben”.
Submissions:
Once again, both men are known primarily for their standup skills, and Mitrione has actually been known to struggle on the mat, especially on his back. He holds no submission wins to his name and one of his three loses has come by tap out. This may be a problem against Rothwell because although I would not consider him a mat wizard, “Big Ben” does hold a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and also owns a respectable 11 submission wins on his record. If the fight somehow ends up on the canvas, the advantage goes to the BJJ purple belt. 60-40 Rothwell.
Both men will be highly motivated to keep their win streaks going and continue climbing up the heavyweight rankings, and it should be a close, hard fought affair. Who do you have taking this one?
