Former UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell books Bobo O’Bannon for his BKFC debut

Ben Rothwell will make his bare-knuckle boxing debut with BKFC later this year when he battles Bobo O’Bannon.

The man known as ‘Big Ben’ was released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship earlier this year ahead of a proposed match-up against Alexander Gustafsson, noting the following during an interview with Ariel Helwani.

“We asked for our release in February,” Rothwell said. “I said I’ve only got so many fights, and this fight was just a fight to make money. What is it really going to do if I fight Gustafsson, who is a name, but he’s 0-3 [in his last three fights] and the fight is just a fight. It’s a fight to make money, and I’ve only got so many fights left in me to make money.

“We just asked for our release, and they said there was a period going back and forth – I think it caught them off surprise if anything. I’ve been with them for 13 years. So they granted it to us and they didn’t have to. So I have nothing bad to say. I’ve had a good 13 years being a professional fighter, making my living off of fighting, getting to do something I love and they granted it to us.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting

Now, in a report confirmed by MMA Fighting, Rothwell’s BKFC debut has been confirmed to take place on October 1 against Bobo O’Bannon.

Ben Rothwell meets Bobo O’Bannon in Oct. 1 BKFC debut (@MMAFightingSM) https://t.co/lb0ylCOBwc pic.twitter.com/V6T3j4n6iu

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 2, 2022

The showdown will take place at Fant Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La with O’Bannon serving as the BKFC veteran of the contest.

He’s currently 3-3 but in his most recent outing back in January, he fell to a defeat at the hands of Alan Belcher.

Are you excited to see what Ben Rothwell can do in bare-knuckle boxing? Did you enjoy his run in UFC? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!