Today, the UFC went to Zagreb, Croatia to put on their latest event on Fox Sports 1. Headlined by two top ten ranked heavyweights in Ben Rothwell and Junior Dos Santos, welcome to our UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. Dos Santos results.
In the main event, it was a return to form for former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, as he used phenomenal boxing and footwork to keep himself on the outside to win a decision. As someone who looked to be past his best, especially following a number of vicious five round beatings, Dos Santos looked very much back to his best tonight. Rothwell, who has been on a tear as of late, looked simply lost and outclassed as Dos Santos put on a clinic.
Dos Santos won all five rounds, and perhaps most importantly, showed excellent tactics, keeping himself on the outside and away from the larger man.
In the co-main event, we had Gabriel Gonzaga making his 22nd appearance for the UFC facing off against Derrick Lewis. Cited as the big test for Lewis before he’d be put against top 15 level opponents, Gonzaga attempted to turn the fight into a grappling heavy affair. Indeed, for the first four minutes of the bout, it seemed a wry tactic, with Lewis spending much of that time with his back against the cage.At this weight, of course, you only need one chance and with a few moments to go in the first round, Lewis hit Gonzaga with a couple of punches that sent the Brazillian to the canvas unconscious.
In his post fight interview, Lewis was quick to announce his future intentions.
“I want to be top 15, I want to hunt for that title, so this was a real opportunity,” Lewis said, before calling out fellow heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
In the first fight of the night, we saw a pair of promising strawweights in face off in a scrappy back and forth, with Maryna “Iron Lady” Moroz pulling out the unanimous victory. Moroz controlled most of the bout with superior grappling, and put her record to 2-1 in the Octagon.
In the second, and arguably fight of the night, had Polish Jan Blachowicz beating Croatian native Igor Pokrajac by unanimous decision.
The two Light Heavyweights went back and forth, with Pokrajac repeatedly refusing to admit defeat, constantly battling back despite Blachowicz having the edge in wrestling ability. In the end, it was said wrestling that won the fight for the Pole, two rounds to one.
Elsewhere on the card, Heavyweight prospect Francis Ngannou made his second appearance (and victory) in the UFC, by defeating debutante Curtis Blaydes via doctors stoppage. Blaydes, after being dropped twice in the first round, had his right eye swollen closed to the point where he couldn’t see. Despite wanting to continue, the doctor called off the bout, awarding Ngannou the victory by TKO.
The two put both put on performances to be happy with, and in a division that is severely lacking in depth, both men could go on to cause waves at heavyweight.
Full Results:
Junior dos Santos def. Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Derrick Lewis def. Gabriel Gonzaga via knockout (Round 1, 4:48)
Francis Ngannou def. Curtis Blaydes via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) (Round 2)
Timothy Johnson def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jan Blachowicz def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Maryna Moroz def. Cristina Stanciu via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Under card
Zak Cummings def. Nicolas Dalby via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alejandro Perez def. Ian Entwistle via verbal submission (Round 1, 4:04)
Mairbek Taisumov def. Damir Hadzovic via technical knockout (Round 1, 3:44)
Damian Stasiak def. Filip Pejic via submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 2:16)
FightPass Undercard
Lucas Martins def. Robert Whiteford via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Jared Cannonier def. Cyril Asker via knockout (Round 1, 2:44)
Bojan Velickovic def. Alessio Di Chirico via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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