Heavyweights Ben Rothwell fought Gilbert Yvel an ugly brawl Saturday at UFC 115, with Rothwell lying on top of Yvel for much of the fight and coming out on top on the judges' scorecards after 15 minutes of less-than-thrilling action.
Both guys came out swinging, with Rothwell landing a combination of punches and then getting on top of Yvel on the ground, only to have Yvel buck him off from mount and get back onto his feet. Rothwell knew he wanted to get the fight to the ground, and it wasn't long before Rothwell slammed Yvel down and got into side control. But Rothwell missed his opportunity to finish the fight, and Yvel did a nice job of getting off his back, getting to his feet and doing some damage late in the round.
It was more of the same in the second, with Rothwell getting Yvel down, getting on top of him, but then not doing as much damage as he should have given his advantageous position. At one point Yvel swept Rothwell, get on top and landed several hard punches that badly hurt Rothwell. It was a tough, sloppy second round that was tough to score.
In the third Yvel surprised everyone by immediately shooting for a takedown, but it didn't do him any good: They went to the ground, but Rothwell ended up on top in side control. It was clear that both heavyweights were absolutely exhausted late in the third round, as Rothwell just laid on top of Yvel and waited for the clock to run out.
When the judges made their decision, Rothwell won 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 on their scorecards. It was a fight that didn't do a lot to bolster Rothwell's reputation, and a fight that was probably the last for Yvel in the UFC.
Both guys came out swinging, with Rothwell landing a combination of punches and then getting on top of Yvel on the ground, only to have Yvel buck him off from mount and get back onto his feet. Rothwell knew he wanted to get the fight to the ground, and it wasn't long before Rothwell slammed Yvel down and got into side control. But Rothwell missed his opportunity to finish the fight, and Yvel did a nice job of getting off his back, getting to his feet and doing some damage late in the round.
It was more of the same in the second, with Rothwell getting Yvel down, getting on top of him, but then not doing as much damage as he should have given his advantageous position. At one point Yvel swept Rothwell, get on top and landed several hard punches that badly hurt Rothwell. It was a tough, sloppy second round that was tough to score.
In the third Yvel surprised everyone by immediately shooting for a takedown, but it didn't do him any good: They went to the ground, but Rothwell ended up on top in side control. It was clear that both heavyweights were absolutely exhausted late in the third round, as Rothwell just laid on top of Yvel and waited for the clock to run out.
When the judges made their decision, Rothwell won 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 on their scorecards. It was a fight that didn't do a lot to bolster Rothwell's reputation, and a fight that was probably the last for Yvel in the UFC.