Rothwell vs. Yvel
One of the featured bouts on the main card of UFC 115 is a heavyweight battle between sluggers Ben Rothwell and Gilbert Yvel.
Rothwell enters the fight as the favorite with a betting line of -170 with Yvel given a line of +140 according to online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com. Here is a closer look at both fighters heading into this main card bout, which will take place from
Ben Rothwell (30-7):
Strengths: Rothwell is like a big grizzly bear as he isn’t the most defined fighter physically, but he brings all he has to each battle. Rothwell doesn’t let many fights go to the scorecards and just two of 30 wins were by decision. Rothwell brings a lot of power in his hands, as he has 17 knockout wins, but he also has 11 submission victories, which you wouldn’t expect from a man of his stature.
Weaknesses: Rothwell could improve his conditioning, but that shouldn’t be an issue in this fight. Where Rothwell struggles is against better strikers than himself. He was soundly beaten by Cain Velasquez in his last fight and was also knocked out by Andrei Arlovski in 2008. Yvel packs a lot of power, which could be an issue for Rothwell.
Last Five Fights:
Second round TKO loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 on Oct. 24, 2009
First round submission win over Chris Guillen at AMMA 2 on Dec. 11, 2008
Third round KO loss to Andrei Arlovski at Affliction 1 on July 19, 2008
Unanimous decision win over Ricco Rodriguez at IFL Championships on Sept. 20, 2007
First round TKO win over Krzysztof Soszynski at IFL Semifinals on Aug. 2, 2007
Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1):
Strengths: Yvel likes to bring it to each fight, as he has never won a decision. He has 31 wins by TKO and five wins by submission. Only four fights in his career have went to decision. Yvel has heavy hands and powerful kicks, and he likes to throw them with bad intentions. Yvel could easily end a fight with one punch or kick.
Weaknesses: Yvel has struggled on the ground and he can leave himself open when he gets into slugfests. In this fight, Rothwell is likely the better wrestler, so Yvel will need to do his best and keep the fight standing. Yvel also could tire, which would allow Rothwell to get him down and ground-and-pound his way to victory.
Last Five Fights:
First round TKO loss to Junior dos
First round KO win over Pedro Rizzo at FFI Ultimate Chaos on June 27, 2009
Third round submission loss to Josh Barnett at Affliction 2 on Jan. 24, 2009
First round TKO win over Alexander Timonov at M-1 Challenge 9 on Nov. 21, 2008
First round submission win over Sergey Shemetov at KOE on Oct. 5, 2008
Who will win: While Yvel has one-punch power, look for Rothwell to try and fight ugly and put his weight on Yvel early and often in hopes of tiring the smaller fighter. As Yvel slows down, the door will open for Rothwell to finish him and pick up a second round TKO victory.
Posted: 6/12/10 10:00AM ET