Travis Browne (James Law/HeavyMMA)
UFC 145 bonus winners to meet in August in Los Angeles
A pair of big bonus winners from the UFC 145 pay-per-view 10 days ago already have their next fights booked.
Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne have agreed to meet in a heavyweight bout in August at UFC on Fox 4. Rothwell was the $65,000 Knockout of the Night winner at UFC 145; Browne picked up Submission of the Night.
UFC on Fox 4 is scheduled for Aug. 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the UFC’s first trip to that venue since UFC 104 in October 2009. Though a main event has not yet been announced, the UFC has recently booked fights between Lyoto Machida–Ryan Bader and Brian Stann–Hector Lombard for the card.
Rothwell (32-8, 2-2 UFC) got a much-needed win in Atlanta when he survived an early onslaught from Brendan Schaub to rebound and knock the former football player out in the first round. Rothwell came into the fight looking much trimmer than his first three UFC bouts. A rededicated training regimen and new training camp, he said after the fight, were to be thanked for his performance – which was a fairly sizable upset.
Rothwell, a former IFL star who went 9-0 in the now-defunct promotion, had rough go of it in his first three UFC fights. At UFC 104, he lost by TKO to future heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. He rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115, but it was clear in the fight that his gas tank might be an issue. But Rothwell also tore his ACL in the fight and needed post-fight surgery, keeping him out for more than a year. He returned in September, but dropped a unanimous decision to a suddenly resurgent Mark Hunt at UFC 135.
Browne (13-0-1, 4-0-1 UFC) continued his impressive run when he submitted former Strikeforce standout Chad Griggs in Atlanta in the first round. Browne kept his unbeaten record intact, with just a draw with Cheick Kongo as a blemish. (Kongo lost a point in that fight for holding Browne’s shorts.) Before his win over Griggs, Browne’s biggest UFC win was a Superman punch knockout of Stefan Struve at UFC 130 last May.
The Rothwell-Browne fight could be a barnburner. Of the 45 victories between the two of them, 40 have come by stoppage with a combined 27 knockouts and 13 submissions.