A heavyweight bout between seasoned veterans Stefan Struve and Ben Rothwell took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC Washington event.

Stefan Struve (29-11 MMA) was last seen in action at February’s UFC event in Prague, where he scored a second round submission victory over Marcos Rogério de Lima. That win snapped a three-fight losing skid for ‘The Skyscraper’.

Meanwhile, Ben Rothwell (36-12 MMA) returned to action from a 3-year layoff in March. Unfortunately for ‘Big Ben’, things have not gone his way since returning the Octagon. Rothwell has dropped back-to-back decision setbacks to Blagoy Ivanov and Andrei Arlovski respectively.

Round one begins and Rothwell comes forward early with his jab. Struve answers with a pair of low kicks. Struve looks massive in comparison to Rothwell, which is crazy. ‘Big Ben’ misses with an overhand right. Struve connects with a body kick. He circles along the cage. Stefan Struve with another hard low kick. Ben Rothwell looks to cut him off but eats a combination. The fighters clinch against the cage. Struve with a knee. He looks for a trip but Rothwell avoids being taken down. Ben is looking for a takedown attempt but Struve defends nicely. Two minutes remain. Ben continues to hold Struve against the cage. They break and Struve lands a head kick. Rothwell answers with a low kick and it hits Struve downstairs and he drops in pain. This does not look good. After a long break we restart. Struve with a pair of big head kicks. Rothwell pushes his way inside and looks to land some bombs. They clinch against the cage. Rothwell with an uppercut on the break. Struve just misses with a head kick. He lands a nice low kick. And then another. Struve with a kick to the body now. He looks to go high but Rothwell avoids and forces the clinch. Round one comes to an end.

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Round two begins and both men connect with jabs to start. Struve with a low kick. Rothwell pushes forward and fires off a flurry. The fighters clinch against the cage. Stefan breaks free. He lands a good uppercut. Rothwell comes over the top with a left hook. Struve with a nice jab. Ben Rothwell once again forces the clinch. Stefan Struve with a foot stomp. They break and Struve lands a pair of kicks. He follows that up with a jab. Rothwell moves forward but eats another hard low kick for his efforts. He pushes ‘The Skyscraper’ up against the cage. Just under two minutes remain. The fighters break and Rothwell lands a low kick right to the groin of Struve. Of course, Stefan drops like a bag of hammers. I’m not sure we will see this continue. After another long break we do continue and the heavyweights begin exchanging shots. They battle against the cage and Struve shakes free. He lands a low kick but that hurts his leg. Struve with a good combination. Rothwell wit big shots now. He drops Struve. More punches from ‘Big Ben’. This one is all over!

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Official UFC Washington Result: Ben Rothwell def. Stefan Struve via TKO at 4:56 of Round 2

Who would you like to see Ben Rothwell fight next following his TKO victory over Stefan Struve at tonight’s UFC Washington event? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com December 7, 2019

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