The UFC's heavyweight division will be featured Sunday when the promotion travels to Zagreb, Croatia for UFC Fight Night 86. The headline bout is "Big" Ben Rothwell vs. Junior Dos Santos, the former heavyweight champion.
Rothwell vs. Dos Santos is one of four heavyweight bouts on the main card, plus there's another heavyweight clash during the Fight Pass prelims. Here's a look at the full card, viewing info and predictions.
UFC Fight Pass Prelims 10:30 a.m ET
- Alessio Di Chirico def. Bojan Velickovic (Chirico by TKO)
- Jared Cannonier def. Cyril Asker (Cannonier by TKO)
- Lucas Martins def. Rob Whiteford (Martins by TKO)
Fox Sports Prelims at noon ET
- Filip Pejic def. Damian Stasiak (Pejic by unanimous decision)
- Damir Hadzovic def. Mairbek Taisumov (Hadzovic by split decision)
- Alejandro Perez def. Ian Entwistle (Perez by unanimous decision)
- Nicolas Dalby def. Zak Cummings (Dalby by submission)
Fox Sports 1 Main Card at 2 p.m ET
- Maryna Moroz def. Cristina Stanciu (Moroz by unanimous decision)
- Jan Blachowicz def. Igor Pokrajac (Blachowicz by submission)
- Timothy Johnson def. Marcin Tybura (Johnson by TKO)
- Francis Ngannou def. Curtis Blaydes (Ngannou by KO)
- Gabriel Gonzaga def. Derrick Lewis (Gonzaga by submission)
- Ben Rothwell def. Junior dos Santos (Rothwell by submission)
In the pre-fight press conference, Rothwell and Dos Santos talked about their approach to the main event:
Ngannou Will Turn More Heads
In Francis Ngannou's UFC debut at UFC on Fox 17 in December, he landed an uppercut that put Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira to sleep in the second round. It was the type of shot that grabs fans' attention.
After the event, Ngannou described his demolition of his opponent, per Dan Stupp and Justin Park of MMA Junkie.
"The main thing was to not rush any time, just be ready to pull out what I’ve been training for four months," he said. "So I don’t need to ‘set up’ some things. … I can feel it in the boxing. That’s my thing—I can feel it. I have the timing for that."
Ngannou is going to continue to force the MMA community to take notice on Sunday. He faces inexperienced slugger Curtis Blaydes, and everything about this fight indicates a Performance of the Night bonus is in store for Ngannou.
Blaydes has won all five of his pro fights by KO. He'll undoubtedly be looking to bang with the Frenchman. That's an ill-advised approach, though, as Ngannou's combination of savage power, accurate punching and deceptive athleticism will prove to be the difference.
Expect a first-round KO and a $50,000 bonus for Ngannou.
Gonzaga's Ground Game Will Tame the Beast
Few fighters have the one-punch power that Derrick "The Black Beast" Lewis possesses, but he hasn't done well against fighters who can take him down. Shawn Jordan used his body and wrestling ability to drain Lewis before finishing him with a hook kick.
Gabriel Gonzaga can be devastating if he's on top of an opponent, and Lewis has never displayed any ability to fight off his back. Lewis will go for the KO early—as he usually does—but Gonzaga is smart. He'll pick his spots and shoot for the takedown to take Lewis off his feet and out of his comfort zone.
Doing this in the first round will likely drain Lewis of his limited amount of stamina. Gonzaga should have an easier time gaining top position in the second round. From there, he'll pound Lewis out and win by submission via rear-naked choke.
Rothwell's Roll Will Continue
Just a couple of years ago, Rothwell seemed like a character more than a fighter. That time has passed. He is as legit of a heavyweight contender as there is in the world, and he's on a mission.
He's not athletic or fancy, but he hits like a mule, has good balance and boasts a top-notch submission game. Frank Mir is most often considered the premier submissions ace in the heavyweight division, but that distinction should belong to Rothwell.
When he made veteran Josh Barnett tap out at UFC on Fox 18 in January, Rothwell should have made believers out of everyone. On Sunday, he will make convert Dos Santos.
Truth be told, if this was the pre-Cain Velasquez version of Dos Santos, he'd be the pick. Unfortunately, he hasn't looked the same since losing to Velasquez in their third fight back in 2013. He's fought just twice since then.
One of the fights was a mildly impressive win over Stipe Miocic in December 2014. The other was a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2015. Cigano looks shopworn, and Rothwell is the guy to put another nail in his career coffin.
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