• UFC 145

Schaub takes flying armbar reminder into UFC 145

Brendan Schaub has not ruled out the possibility of a flying armbar victory over Ben Rothwell at UFC 145 this weekend.

Schaub bids to get his career back on track in the heavyweight division on Saturday following defeat to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira last time out. Victory over Rothwell would move him back in the direction of the top five.

His official UFC profile lists the flying armbar as his favoured technique in MMA, but he is yet to even win by submission, let alone flying armbar. ESPN reminded the Hybrid of this in a recent interview, and Schaub reacted by telling us to be patient.

"You might see one in April, jiu-jitsu's something I'm working very hard at and I definitely have some skills down there," Schaub said. "I just haven't been able to show it with the opponents they've given me.

"With Rothwell, you never know, if I win by submission you'll be the first one I call!"

Asked to break down his battle with Rothwell, Schaub insists the fight will come down to who has the better technique. And in his eyes, that means there can only be one winner.

"Every opponent I get I try to expose their weaknesses. Rothwell is known for turning fights into brawls, drawn-out three-round fights," Schaub explained.

"For me, I'm a technician; I like to use my athleticism and technique to pick guys apart. So it's a battle of styles, but I can grind with the best of them and for me it's just about imposing my will. It'll be a good night for me.

"The longer the fight goes the more in favour it is for me. I'd put my gas tank up against anyone in the UFC heavyweight division. Rothwell has struggled with that (a lack of cardio), but his last fight was at altitude so I'm going to give him a freebie on that one because it is tough to fight at altitude!

"If I put on the right type of performance against Rothwell I'm right back up there."

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