UFC San Antonio: Andrei Arlovski Batters & Bloodies a Game Ben Rothwell

Andrei Arlovski returned to the win column tonight at UFC San Antonio in impressive fashion, by outgunning Ben Rothwell with a wide array of strikes.

Rothwell came out pressuring and Arlovski looked to counter with his faster hands. Rothwell appeared to clip Arlovski not long in, but the former champ recovered. Arlovski tagged Rothwell with several decent shots, but the massive heavyweight seemed unfazed. Mid round, however, Arlovski sent Rothwell stumbling back with a nice flurry. Arlovski continued to offer more volume, but both men were wearing cuts under their eyes as the opening round neared its end. Arlovski scored with a nice spinning back-fist and by the end of the frame, Rothwell was all bloodied up.

Rothwell came out aggressively in round two again, but Arlovski scored with counters. The latter’s speed advantage remained so in the second frame, and wasn’t long before Rothwell’s face was a bloody mess once more. Mid round, Rothwell clinched up and pushed Arlovski to the cage. The latter eventually worked his way out and he resumed his striking attacks. Arlovski fired off a nice spinning kick to the body in the final minute, and Rothwell’s pace continued to slow.

Arlovski continued to batter Rothwell in round three. A couple of minutes in, Rothwell clinched up, and eventually went for a takedown. Arlovski defended, however, and after several ensuing and wild exchanges, both men were gassed.  The final seconds of the fight unfolded with neither man throwing a strike. Gutsy performance by Rothwell, but a decisive win for Arlovski.

Here are the complete results so far for UFC San Antonio.

Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alex Caceres def. Steven Peterson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Raquel Pennington def. Irene Aldana via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Jennifer Maia def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Klidson Abreu def. Sam Alvey unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ray Borg def. Gabriel Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mario Bautista def. Jin Soo Son via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Felipe Colares def. Domingo Pilarte via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)