Ben Rothwell, 38, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States was one of the winners at “UFC Fight Night 175,” also known as “UFC on ESPN+ 29.” It was his eighth victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Featuring 10 mixed martial arts matches, “UFC Fight Night 175” took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, USA on May 13, 2020. In the ninth bout of the evening, Rothwell fought Ovince “OSP” Saint Preux, 37, of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA in the heavyweight division.
Dan Miragliotta served as the referee. After three five-minute rounds, the heavyweight contest was left in the hands of the three judges, who scored it 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.
In the end, Miragliotta raised the hand of Rothwell. The Kenosha native was declared the winner via split decision.
Winning at “UFC Fight Night 175” improved the professional MMA record of Rothwell to 38 wins and 12 losses. He is now riding a two-bout winning streak.
On the other hand, St. Preux now has 24 wins and 14 losses. It was the Haitian-American MMA fighter’s ninth loss in the UFC.
Six countries were represented at “UFC Fight Night 175” namely Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and Venezuela. Rothwell and St. Preux were two of the 13 fighters who represented the U.S.
The UFC held “UFC Fight Night 175” amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic while almost all other major MMA promotions have either cancelled or postponed their events. In the main event of the evening, Anthony “Lionheart” Smith, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, USA and Glover Teixeira, 40, of Sobrália, Minas Gerais, Brazil battled it out in the light heavyweight division.
Teixeira won via ground and pound in the fifth round. He and Drew Dober, 31, of Denver, Colorado, USA were the two recipients of the Performance of the Night bonuses.
Born in Kenosha on October 17, 1981, Rothwell made his professional MMA debut in 2001 and joined the UFC in 2009. The first seven opponents he defeated in the promotion were Gilbert Yvel, Brendan Schaub, Brandon Vera, Alistair Overeem, Matt Mitrione, Josh Barnett and Stefan Struve.
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