Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell

You may remember Cain Velasquez from his last fight, against Cheick Kongo. Without a doubt, Kongo was the toughest opponent Cain had ever faced. Despite that, Cain had little trouble dominating the fight. Kongo seemed helpless on the ground, as he often does when facing a superior wrestler.

So, after getting the biggest win of his career, Cain told Joe Rogan that he wasn’t happy with his performance. It wasn’t your typical victory speech. Obviously, Cain didn’t like taking damage in the brief stand-up exchanges. Therefore, he needs to be more confident when facing tough strikers. Still, he took the best shots his opponent had to offer and walked away with a victory.

Originally, Cain was slated to face Shane Carwin. Since Velasquez didn’t get the finish in his last fight, Carwin got promoted to title contender.

Enter Ben Rothwell, the man they got to replace Carwin. You have to feel bad for Big Ben. This is a brutal way to enter the UFC. If Dana had wanted to see Rothwell succeed, he would have given him an easier opponent. As it looks right now, Rothwell is going to have an uphill battle in this company.

The upshot is that if he wins this match, he has a valid claim for receiving a title shot in 2010. The problem is that Cain has trashed every opponent he’s faced. Ben is known for being a durable fighter (aka Homer Simpson syndrome), which means he can take a beating. That was his claim to fame from the loss he suffered to Andrei Arlovski. Ben will also have an experience advantage.

Everything else match-up wise points to a Cain Velasquez victory. Cain has superior athleticism. He’s more explosive. He’s been able to take down his opponents with relative ease. The only trouble he might have is with Ben Rothwell’s size. That may hinder Cain’s progress early on in the fight. Since Cain has great cardio, he’ll be able to wear out Ben before the fifteen minute mark.

Ben has lots of spirit, which is why he can last the whole fight. However he probably won’t get the win. He’ll also look pretty ugly at the after-party.

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