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UFC Fight Night Zagreb: Rothwell And Dos Santos Face Off In Croatia

By Caitlin Johnstone
Published on: 12:38 PST, Apr 9, 2016

Two top-five UFC heavyweights will be squaring off this coming Sunday in an exciting five-round pick ’em matchup with major title implications. Perennial contender Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos (17-4) will seek to halt the surprising but impressive surging rise of “Big Ben” Rothwell (36-9) at the Zagreb arena in Zagreb, Croatia, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 86.

Former heavyweight champion Dos Santos will be coming in off a brutal knockout loss at the hands of former K-1 champion Alistair Overeem, which, while nothing to be ashamed of, did throw up yet another frustrating obstacle in front of Cigano’s bid for another title run. Rothwell will be riding into this bout on a four-fight winning streak which includes victories over both Overeem and a stunning second-round submission of Josh Barnett, who has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous submission fighters in the division and who had until that fight never tapped to a submission hold in professional mixed martial arts competition.

Both fighters made weight last night with Dos Santos well within the 265-pound heavyweight limit weighing in at 241 pounds, while Rothwell tipped the scales at 264. The traditional square-off at the weigh-in was energetic and exciting, with Rothwell defying tradition and entering the staredown with his hands at his sides.

In a warm and positive pre-fight interview true to his typical style, Dos Santos acknowledged that Rothwell is “a strange guy” (probably referring both to Big Ben’s notoriously oddball post-fight interviews and his unorthodox fighting style), but praising his skills as a “tough heavyweight with pretty good skills” who “puts on good performances” and saying that he respects Rothwell as both a great athlete and a great person. Cigano still maintains that he believes he can beat anyone in the division, however.

Rothwell spoke of his opponent in equally glowing terms, noting that JDS is a highly respected and high-ranked fighter whom he’s been calling for a fight with for “a couple years now” and with whom he’s prepared for a five-round war if necessary. He told fans to be ready for another interesting post-fight interview that he’s “got something special planned” for and that fans will want to tune in. Rothwell also mentioned that Croatian martial arts superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (whom Dos Santos has beaten in the UFC) welcomed him warmly into his country and gave him a gym to train at in preparation for the match.

The co-main event will also be held down by powerful heavyweights in an intriguing style match-up between the grizzled veteran Gabriel “Napão” Gonzaga (17-10, 262 lbs) and the heavy-handed Derrik “The Black Beast” Lewis (14-4-1, 264 lbs) in a three-round tilt. Lewis, while sometimes criticized for lacking a well-rounded game plan, has some of the most feared hand power in the sport and can put away any fighter at any time with the right punch. Gonzaga (who holds a win over Rothwell and to this day owns one of the most spectacular knockouts in the sport’s history over the aforementioned Croatian legend Mirko Cro Cop) is a solid Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt and will be coming into a fight off a win for the first time in over two-and-a-half years.

Fans can tune in live to the prelims of the card on Fox Sports 1 at Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT, with the main card beginning 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT, April 10.

[Photo by Elsa/Getty Images]

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