Quite a few UFC heavyweights have been reserved for upcoming bouts, and I’ll give my thoughts on those brand new matchups in the current MMA odds and ends.
Ben Rothwell vs. Blagoy Ivanov at March
Long-time heavvyweight contender Ben Rothwell will return to the Octagon when he takes on Blagoy Ivanov at a yet-to-be-determined UFC event in March. MMA.bg first broke the news of this bout and Rothwell’s return to the Octagon. Rothwell (36-10) is 6-4 overall from the UFC dating back to 2009. He has fought on average only once a year, owing in part due to accidents and also to medication suspensions. He has not fought since a decision loss to Junior dos Santos back in April 2016, and he had been suspended by USADA for 2 years after testing positive for banned substances. But before the loss to JDS, Rothwell had won four fights in a row including a TKO win over Alistair Overeem. He must immediately jump back into the top-15 when he returns into the cage. Ivanov (16-2, 1 NC) also lost a decision to JDS in his final fight, which had been his UFC debut. Prior to that he had won five straight fights in WSOF/PFL. I believe Ivanov will look better than how he did against JDS, but I would still need to lean Rothwell here just because of his experience and achievement in the Octagon all these years.
Junior dos Santos vs. Derrick Lewis, UFC Fight Night 146
Heavyweight contenders Junior dos Santos and Derrick Lewis are set to clash at UFC Fight Night 146, which can be set for March 9 in Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. MMAjunkie.com broke the news. JDS (20-5) had a excellent comeback year in 2018 with apparent victories over Tai Tuivasa and Blagoy Ivanov. Lewis (21-6, 1 NC) is coming off of a submission reduction to Daniel Cormier in his failed bid to win the UFC heavyweight title, but had conquered Francis Ngannou and Alexander Volkov before that. This ought to be a top quality fight between two hard-hitting heavyweights, but JDS is the considerably more well-rounded fighter and that I expect him to be the favorite here, though of course Lewis has a puncher’s chance. I expect JDS for a 2-to-1 favorite here.
Jeff Hughes vs. Daniel Spitz, UFC Fight Night 146 At the same time, top heavyweight prospect Jeff Hughes will make his Octagon debut against Daniel Spitz at UFC Fight Night 146. FloCombat’s Nolan King reported that the news. Hughes (10-1) has won four consecutive fights including a KO win over Josh Appelt on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series to get him signed into the UFC. Prior to this he had been the LFA heavyweight champion, and his lone career loss was a TKO defeat to Dan Spohn. Spitz (6-2) is 1-2 at the UFC with reductions to Walt Harris and Mark Godbeer and also a TKO win to Anthony Hamilton. The UFC has booked Hughes a very winnable fight because of his Octagon debut here against a man like Spitz who does not appear to be UFC-caliber by any way. I would expect Hughes to be a favored to win this fight.
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