Ben Rothwell News

Adam Martin - April 24, 2020

The first fight has been targeted for the May 13 card in Jacksonville, Florida: a heavyweight bout between veterans Ben Rothwell and Ovince Saint Preux. Saint Preux was scheduled to fight Ion Cutelaba at UFC Nebraska after Cutelaba’s rematch with Magomed Ankalaev at the original UFC 249 card fell apart. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Cutelaba’s fight against OSP has also fallen through as the Moldovan fighter cannot re-enter the United States. Instead, OSP will now move up to heavyweight on short notice to take on Rothwell.

Harry Kettle - February 4, 2020

UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell has questioned what might’ve happened if he had wound up fighting Stipe Miocic in Dublin a few years ago as originally planned.  Rothwell, who is coming off the back on a TKO win over Stefan Struve at the end of last year, is set to square off against Gian Villante at UFC 249 as he attempts to work his way back into the title picture in the heavyweight division.

Adam D Martin - December 8, 2019

UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell says he is open to a rematch against Stefan Struve following a controversial TKO win at UFC Washington, D.C. Rothwell won the fight via second-round TKO when he finished Struve with a barrage of strikes against the fence, but the ending to the fight was not without controversy.

Chris Taylor - December 7, 2019

A heavyweight bout between seasoned veterans Stefan Struve and Ben Rothwell took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC Washington event. Stefan Struve (29-11 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since February’s UFC event in Prague, where he scored a second round submission victory over Marcos Rogério de Lima. That win had snapped a three-fight losing skid for ‘The Skyscraper’.

Christopher Taylor - July 20, 2019

A heavyweight scrap between former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and seasoned veteran Ben Rothwell kicked off tonight’s UFC San Antonio main card. Tonight’s bout served as a rematch, as Arlovski and Rothwell had previously met under the Affliction banner in July of 2008, with ‘The Pitbull’ emerging victorious by way of knockout.

Chris Taylor - July 20, 2019

A heavyweight bout featuring former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski taking on seasoned veteran Ben Rothwell kicked off tonight’s UFC San Antonio main card. Tonight’s fight will serve as a rematch, as Arlovski and Rothwell previously met under the Affliction banner in July of 2008, with ‘The Pitbull’ emerging victorious by way of knockout.

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2019

Last week, the UFC’s return to Texas, UFC San Antonio, had a whopping six whole fights announced. Well, there’s more where that came from. ESPN confirmed on Monday that the July 20 event will be getting a rematch of a fight from 11 years ago that took place in the short-lived promotion that was Affliction. It will be the former UFC heavyweight champion, “The Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (27-18) squaring off once again with Ben Rothwell (36-11).

Chris Taylor - March 9, 2019

A heavyweight bout between Ben Rothwell and Blagoy Ivanov took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC Wichita event. Ben Rothwell (36-10 MMA) returns to action for the first time since April of 2016, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Junior dos Santos.

Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019

Perennial UFC heavyweight contender “Big” Ben Rothwell will return to the octagon for the first time in nearly three years in March of 2019. According to Bulgarian MMA website MMA.bg, Ben Rothwell will square off with former Bellator champion Blagoy Ivanov in March.

Russell Ess - March 8, 2017

Many fans were surprised when news came out that the UFC was notified that heavyweight Ben Rothwell was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a potential anti-doping policy violation. An out-of-competition sample collected on February 6, is what caused USADA to flag Rothwell with the potential violation.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2017

Derrick Lewis is currently in the midst of a destructive charge through the UFC heavyweight division. The Texas-based big man’s last loss occurred in June of 2015, when he was put down by a second-round Shawn Jordan hook kick. Since then, he has rebounded with six-straight wins, just one of which has seen the judges scorecards.

Russell Ess - March 7, 2017

UFC heavyweight fighter Ben Rothwell has been flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a potential anti-doping violation. The UFC released the following statement on their notification from USADA on Tuesday:

Tom Taylor - February 6, 2017

Back in December of 2016, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was scheduled to rematch a fellow former champ in Fabricio Werdum. The winner of this fight was expected to challenge reigning champ Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight crown. Unfortunately, Velasquez was forced out of this anticipated heavyweight showdown with an injury just days before it was supposed to go down. This marked the latest incident in the long string of injuries that have marred the recent years of his otherwise incredible career.

Russell Ess - January 10, 2017

UFC Heavyweight Ben Rothwell isn’t holding anything back when speaking with the media now that he realizes how much of a factor it plays in the sport of mixed martial arts. Following Ronda Rousey’s much talked about loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, Rothwell commented not just on Rousey on Sirius XM’s “Fight Club” podcast, but also her boyfriend Travis Browne where he ripped into his fellow UFC heavyweight.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2017

Ben Rothwell is known for telling it like it is. If there’s something on the hulking heavyweight’s mind, he tends to say it. In a recent interview with Sirius XM Fight Club, Rothwell continued his habit of speaking his mind, this time giving his take on Ronda Rousey‘s recent comeback, which was spoiled in just 48 seconds by reigning bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2017

Last week, UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and middleweight champ Michael Bisping made headlines by agreeing to fight at a catchweight of 180lbs. While it remains to be seen if the UFC actually makes this fight, it’s bound to ruffle a few feathers if they do. Woodley, after all, is currently in the crosshairs of deserving welterweight contenders like Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, who he recently battled to a draw, and Demian Maia, who recently submitted Carlos Condit to extend his welterweight win-streak to 6.

Tom Taylor - November 25, 2016

Yesterday afternoon, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos issued one of the most courteous callouts in UFC history. The recipient of this callout was current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who he defeated with a narrow decision back in late 2014. If Dos Santos gets his way, this rematch with the reigning champ will occur at UFC 209 in Brooklyn in February. Hey @stipemiocicufc enjoy Thanksgiving in ur new home- hope it's filled w great food & friends. Let's fight after the holidays?Brooklyn? LMK

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

On April 10th of 2016, top ranked UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell stepped into the Octagon for what many believed to be a #1 contender fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. ‘Big Ben’ was riding 4-fight win streak into the fight that saw him finish four straight fights. After serving a 9-month suspension for elevated testosterone levels, after a TKO win over Brandon Vera at UFC 164, Rothwell returned to the Octagon and TKOd Alistair Overeem in 2014. Rothwell, who was making waves in the heavyweight division, was away from the Octagon for nearly a year. When he returned, he picked up back to back submission wins over Matt Mitrione and Josh Barnett, becoming the first man to submit Josh Barnett.