UFC Fight Night 68 Preview
Another week means another fight Night for the UFC as promotion gets right back to work with another night where fighters try to prove their worth.
UFC Fight Nigh 68 is more about proving that these fighters belong in the divisions that they will fight in when they travel to New Orleans.
None of the four fighters in the main event and co-main event are ranked high in their respective weight classes.
They enter New Orleans without much fanfare about their chances of earning a title shot as they are bot close to the title races.
Still there is plenty to fight as all of these fighters will be looking to prove that they belong and for some it has long been a long battle to be considered legitimate contender.
That is the case for one of the fighters in the co-main event as Matt Mitrione has been trying to be considered one of the best in the heavyweight division.
After spending time on The Ultimate Fighter Mitrione entered the UFC with a mixed fan reaction after earning the nickname Meathead on the show for his various stupid decisions.
His career has met he same mixed reaction as his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter Finale launched a five-fight win streak but never earned him a major opponent.
That was until Cheick Kongo who beat Mitrione at UFC 137 and began a difficult stretch for Mitrione where he remained an outsider in the division.
Now with a three fight win streak, Mitrione enters Fight Night 68 as the #13 fighter in the division and is hoping that he can finally get some recognition by beating a fighter that has been close to the top.
Ben Rothwell came into the UFC as a lauded heavyweight with great power as he took on Cain Velasquez in a fight between two title contenders.
Rothwell lost that fight and has struggled to find a groove since then winning some fights and losing others with no real big winning streak to speak of.
He enters Fight Night 68 as the #9 fighter in the division and is riding a two-fight win streak as he looks for his first real momentum builder against Mitrione.
As with almost any heavyweight fight this will come down to who can take the most punishment.
Both have little interest in the ground game and will throw everything they have throughout the fight looking for the knockout.
Mitrione is known for having a rock hard chin and Rothwell is no stranger to taking punishment either as they will throw for three rounds both looking for a little respect in the heavyweight division.
The search for respect doesn’t end with the co-main event though as the main eventers will be searching for the same thing.
When Dan Henderson and Tim Boetsch face-off neither will enter the fight outside of the top 10 in the middleweight rankings.
For Boetsch it is a result of his inconsistency as a middleweight after switching to middleweight from light heavyweight.
When he first entered the new division he went on a roll winning his first four fights and rising through the ranks.
Then he took a loss to Costas Philippou and Mark Munoz in consecutive fights that sent him out of any hope that he had to get to the title.
Since then he has mixed losses with wins and has not been able to string anything together including his latest loss to Thales Leites, which won fight of the Night at UFC 183.
He enters this main event fight against another fighter trying to regain some respect in the division.
Henderson is not ranked at all in the division as he heads into this event as a result of his move through multiple weight classes.
He continues to fight despite being 44 years old and has attempted to climb the ladder in multiple divisions.
His latest attempt came in the light heavyweight division but a loss to now champion Daniel Cormier ended any potential run.
He re-entered the middleweight division in January when he took on Gegard Mousasi and dropped a pretty embarrassing fight.
It only took Mousasi just over a minute to knockout Henderson and now at the tail end of his career he is hoping to restart some sort of run at the middleweight title.
It is going to be a challenge for Henderson as he is nearing the end of what is likely to be his last UFC contract and will need to win every fight from here on out if he hopes to capture his first ever UFC title.
That journey is hopefully, at least for him, going to start against Boetsch who is looking to get his run going again.
Both fighters have a wrestling background and have taken that wrestling to a more aggressive style of fighting.
Neither really go all out for submissions but have been able to submit opponents in the past if the opportunity presents itself.
Instead they look for the ground and pound as they try to earn the TKO and take power to the feet as well.
Both will likely stand until they find an opening but neither will find it too easy to get their opponent to the ground.
It could turn out to be a battle of wills but with Henderson’s chin being exposed recently, Boetsch will earn the knockout in the third round.
The Sport Addiction 