MMA Preview – Ben Rothwell vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC Fight Night 197
BEN ROTHWELL VS MARCOS ROGERIO DE LIMA FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 197? Saturday 13th November, 2021 - 19:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 197? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 197? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC Fight Night 197 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 197? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
BEN ROTHWELL VS MARCOS ROGERIO DE LIMA LOWDOWN
Ben Rothwell (39-13) finally makes his way to the APEX after Philipe Lins pulled out of their fight three times – at UFC Fight Night 187, UFC on ESPN 24 and UFC Fight Night 188. He was not that excited about fighting him anyway and despite Lins being on the same card (for now) he has another opponent and hopes to make it two-in-a-row after losing a unanimous decision to Marcin Tybura a year ago. He responded by submitting Chris Barnett who filled in for Lins and announced himself with that spectacular spinning hook kick last week at UFC 268.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima (18-7-1) rolls out for his 13th UFC fight maintaining a consecutive win-loss record since his second appearance in the octagon. At least he is becoming more active. He had one fight in 2018 winning a unanimous decision over Adam Wieczorek and one in 2019 getting submitted by Stefan Struve. However, he has had three fights since, knocking out Ben Sosoli, unsurprisingly getting submitted by Alexander Romanov and now he is coming off a unanimous decision over Maurice Greene back in May.
BEN ROTHWELL VS MARCOS ROGERIO DE LIMA PREDICTION
De Lima gets submitted by anyone with half-decent jiu-jitsu despite being a black belt. We are not sure who awarded that belt with his last five losses all coming via a sub and he is also due a loss considering he won his last fight. We all know MMA is not that straight forward but in this case, it is more than likely.
De Lima is a much better striker with speed, power and excellent Muay Thai. However, this is a terrible match-up as the last time Rothwell got knocked out was in 2009 by Cain Velasquez. He is also great at closing the distance and making the fight dirty.
We expect Rothwell to utilise his height and reach advantage to grab a hold of the Brazilian, clinch up and put his weight to use by wearing de Lima down against the fence. If he can tire him out, a submission will be waiting for him and Rothwell will not even need to hit the mat to cinch up a guillotine choke.
Prediction: Rothwell via Submission - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
