The co-main event features a heavyweight bout between 40-year-old Ben Rothwell and an inconsistent Marcos Rogerio de Lima. de Lima is a former light heavyweight and will be the smaller of the two fighters to enter the cage. Rothwell will enter the octagon three inches taller and with a three-and-a-half-inch reach advantage.
As Rothwell has aged, he’s lost some of his physical gifts, but he still possesses a significant experience advantage. Throughout Big Ben’s long career, he’s made numerous fighters look awkward in the cage. It has traditionally been a difficult task to look good against the mountain of a man. Rothwell doesn’t usually look like a world-beater, but he doesn’t get embarrassed either. Neither of these fighters has great gas tanks.
In the past, de Lima has been an all-or-nothing fighter. His endurance at light heavyweight wasn’t great, but his pace at heavyweight has been worse. This fight has the makings of a slow, plodding affair. Both fighters have some power on the feet, but while Rothwell is older and slower, de Lima is less dynamic at this weight class. Rogerio doesn’t have much offense on the ground, and his defense is arguably worse.
Rothwell could potentially finish this fight on the ground, but it’s more likely the two find themselves leaning on each other when the final bell rings. We expect Rothwell to come away with the win in a pretty dull and slow fight. If you want to spice this one up, you could put a bet on Rothwell finishing by submission or TKO, but it’s probably more likely to go to a decision.
The Bets: Rothwell (-158), Rothwell by Points (+300), Will the fight go the distance? Yes (+144)
