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 returning to action for the first time since February’s UFC event in Prague, where he scored a second round submission victory over Marcos Rogério de Lima. That win had snapped a three-fight losing skid for ‘The Skyscraper’.
Meanwhile, Ben Rothwell (36-12 MMA) was looking to snap a three-fight losing skid at tonight’s event. ‘Big Ben’ was coming off decision setbacks to Blagoy Ivanov and Andrei Arlovski respectively in his most recent Octagon appearances.
Tonight’s Struve vs. Rothwell bout proved to be a very strange contest. Struve was seemingly getting the better of Rothwell in the standup, landing a number of hard kicks to the head and legs of ‘Big Ben’. However, this fight will be remembered for the two brutal groin strikes that Rothwell landed on Struve. Shortly after Struve recovered from the second foul, Rothwell was able to put him away with punches for a TKO victory.
Official UFC Washington Result: Ben Rothwell def. Stefan Struve via TKO at 4:56 of Round 2
Check out how the pros reacted to Rothwell defeating Struve below:
https://twitter.com/PlatinumPerry/status/1203526978026057728
https://twitter.com/MeganOlivi/status/1203526900645281792
So this is what you get when you come out of retirement? This is “nuts”! #UFCDC
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 8, 2019
Feel for struve, he’s a stud for continuing the fight
— Ibrahim Kawa (@Abraham_kawa) December 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/funkmasterMMA/status/1203530205656170496
That was one of the more odd fights.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/Nikohybridprice/status/1203529842496589825
Great job @RothwellFighter !! Way to come back and get that!
— Ibrahim Kawa (@Abraham_kawa) December 8, 2019
Poor Stefan Struve. Comes out of retirement for this.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 8, 2019
Who would you like to see Ben Rothwell fight next following his controversial TKO victory over Ben Rothwell 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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