Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Junior dos Santos bagged the UFC heavyweight championship belt versus Ben Rothwell on Sunday during the UFC Fight Night 86 in Croatia. The power that the people expected from Dos Santos all showed during this recent fight.
According to MMA Fighting, the Brazilian fighter came out on Friday "reinvigorated" and prepared to take on and defeat Rothwell. It noted that Dos Santos made us of great strikes and efficient movement to dominate his opponent in a 50-45 win.
"I think we did the right strategy," Dos Santos said. "You can't go against a guy that size, he's too big. So I used my footwork and my speed and used my boxing. Forget about jiu-jitsu and wrestling, I'm a boxing guy!"
Indeed, the Brazilian MMA fighter stepped up his game with a great opening that stunned Rothwell during the early part of the match. MMA Fighting added that everytime Rothwell tries to close in on him, Dos Santos has the answer for him.
Fox Sports added that Dos Santos was observed to be giving more accurate shots on his opponent, even shaking him with a huge left hit that obviously made him dizzy. However, the same report said that Rothwell tried his best not to show any form of weakness to his opponent.
Winners in the other matches included Derrick Lewis who knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga, Francis Ngannou of France who was victorious over Curtis Blaydes and Tim Johnson who defeated Marcin Tybura of Poland. Lewis told MMA fighting that he really wanted the win over Gonzaga.
"I feel hungry after that victory," Lewis added. "I feel really good. I appreciate my opponent and what he did in the fight. I'm hoping that I get to fight Roy Nelson in July at UFC 200. I want to fight again soon and keep this run of victories going."
