Which Heavyweight will dominate in Croatia?

With all the injury replacements and fight announcements this week it’s a good bet that you probably forgot that there were fights this weekend. Croatia is set to host it’s first UFC event ever and the headliners are sure to bring some much needed fireworks into the new region. Ben Rothwell versus Junior dos Santos may not be the match up on the UFC calendar, but the fight has a great deal of significance for both combatants involved. For one man the match will determine whether or not a UFC title shot is in his immediate future. For the other, it could likely mean the beginning of the end of an illustrious and successful career. Ben Rothwell has been a bit of a dark horse in the Heavyweight division. He has collected four straight victories against top competition including Alistair Oveereem, Matt Mitrione, and former UFC Heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. Rothwell employs a pressure style that tends to have his opponents backing up and looking for opportunities to either counter or shoot for a takedown. Because most fighters in the Heavyweight division aren’t particularly keen on countering, many of “Big” Ben’s opponents find themselves flustered by the man’s forward pressure. Rothwell usually has no problem pushing his opponents up against the cage, forcing wrestlers to shoot and get sprawled on and submitted and strikers to throw recklessly and get countered themselves. The unique thing about this particular match up is that Junior dos Santos is an avid counter puncher with some decent boxing fundamentals. The former Heavyweight champion, dos Santos has big power and knows how and when to utilize it. Or rather he did at one point. These days dos Santos has been struggling with pressure fighters, often times destroying his usually great footwork and circling into the cage where he gets trapped and bullied by his pressuring adversary. After the third fight with Cain Velasquez, dos Santos has be prone to doing this over and over and it cost him in that match as well as in the match up with Alistair Overeem. Although he won his war with Stipe Miocic, dos Santos still was battered and bruised. If dos Santos hopes to come out with a victory on Sunday he’ll need to manage his movement and cage management better this time around. Unfortunately, Rothwell has been in this game for a long time and lately has been managing to implement his brand of striking and pressure fighting to perfection. You don’t submit Josh Barnett without having a wicked set of skills and you can expect Rothwell to employ the same kind of game plan that gives dos Sanots so much trouble. Expect Rothwell to net a KO victory in the third round against a tough, but sadly declining dos Santos. Who do you think will walk away with a victory on Sunday? Follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to share, like, and comment to show your support.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.