When Matt Mitrione stood up from his submission loss to Ben Rothwell this past summer, it was easy to read his lips: “Stupid.”
That’s what he thought of the mistake he made trying to take Rothwell down in their UFC Fight Night 68 co-main event in New Orleans. The mistake cost him when he stopped standing and trading with Rothwell and shot on him. Rothwell stuffed the takedown attempt and quickly latched on his “gogo” choke. Mitrione was tapping furiously mere seconds later.
That choke proved to be no fluke. In January, Rothwell slapped it on Josh Barnett and got a second-round submission, giving him four straight wins and four straight finishes with a pair of bonuses.
On Sunday, Rothwell (36-9 MMA, 6-3 UFC) meets former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos (17-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 86, which takes place at Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia. The card airs on FOX Sports 1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
Rothwell is No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, and Dos Santos is No. 8. Rothwell has been pining for a heavyweight title shot, and a win over a former champ like Dos Santos could very well get him in line to fight the winner of the May title fight between champ Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic.
But before you watch Rothwell go for his fifth straight, watch how he took out Mitrione in the video above.
For more on UFC Fight Night 86, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
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