Tag: Ben Rothwell

Ben Rothwell out of BKFC 56, fight with Todd Duffee now targeted for February

BKFC 56 has lost its original co-main event after Ben Rothwell was forced to withdraw because of illness.

BKFC 56 has taken a hit.

The co-main event between [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Todd Duffee[/autotag] has been postponed after Rothwell came down with an illness, BKFC president David Feldman announced Thursday at the BKFC 56 news conference.

“Ben Rothwell actually came down really, really sick this morning, and he’s not going to be able to compete,” Feldman said. “We tried to get a last-minute replacement for Todd Duffee, and we just couldn’t line it up, so we’re going to push that for February. Sorry to the fans for that one, but we still have a stacked card.”

Duffee, who still attended the BKFC 56 news conference, wasn’t happy with the development and took a shot at Rothwell for withdrawing.

“I fought with COVID my last fight, so I really think Ben’s real fight is happening with the scale,” Duffee said. “I think Thanksgiving was his biggest opponent. I don’t know what else to really add to that. Again, I fought with COVID, I understand what it’s like, but you make a commitment, you try to get out there and make it happen. I don’t think Ben by any means is a weak man. Maybe he’s going through something I don’t understand, but I think his biggest fight was Thanksgiving. And I think that’s where he lost.”

This was supposed to be Duffee’s debut in bareknuckle boxing, but now he’ll have to wait until the first quarter of next year. Rothwell was set to make his third BKFC appearance since his UFC departure in March 2022. Rothwell is 2-0 in bareknuckle.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420038933]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC 56.

Video: BKFC 56 fight-week press conference live stream

Watch the final news conference ahead of BKFC 56, which features 12 fighters, including headliners Mike Perry and Eddie Alvarez.

The BKFC 56 fight-week news conference takes place Thursday, and you can watch a live stream of the festivities right here on MMA Junkie beginning at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

The news conference is set to go down at Bucked Up National Headquarters in American Fork, Utah with 12 fighters and BKFC president David Feldman expected to be in attendance. Former UFC champion [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] and former UFC standout [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag], who headline the event, will be there, as well as co-headliners [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Todd Duffee[/autotag], both former UFC heavyweights. The event also features three championship bouts and another pair of former UFC standouts throwing down, [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag].

BKFC 56, one of the promotion’s biggest cards of the year, takes place Saturday at Maverik Center in Salt Lake City. The main card airs on FITE and the BKFC App.

You can watch the fight-week news conference in the video above.

[lawrence-related id=2699395,2694359,2694345,2690752,2690608]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC 56.

BKFC free fight: Ben Rothwell retires Josh Copeland after battering him for three rounds

Ahead of BKFC 56, watch Ben Rothwell notch his second win in the ring.

[autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] is getting the hang of this bareknuckle boxing thing.

The former UFC heavyweight contender moved to 2-0 in BKFC this past April when he defeated Josh Copeland back at BKFC 41. After battering Copeland for three rounds, Copeland’s corner decided to throw in the towel and not send their fighter back for the fourth round. This gave Rothwell a TKO victory and his second win since transitioning from MMA.

You can watch Rothwell’s impressive win over Copeland in the video above.

Rothwell returns to the ring this Friday in the co-main event of BKFC 56. He takes on fellow UFC veteran Todd Duffee. The event takes place at Maverik Center in Salt Lake City. The pay-per-view streams on the BKFC app and other streaming platforms.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=420038933]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC 56.

UFC veterans in MMA and bareknuckle boxing action Nov. 30-Dec. 2

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC returns to The Lone Star State’s capitol.

UFC on ESPN 52 takes place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas is headlined by a lightweight bout between [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] and [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag].

Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Ben Rothwell interested in fighting Francis Ngannou in PFL: ‘That’s a legacy fight’

Ben Rothwell would love to throw down with Francis Ngannou in PFL.

[autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] is happy with his path down the bareknuckle boxing route, but he wouldn’t mind taking a detour back into MMA.

The former UFC contender and long-time MMA veteran is interested in fighting [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] in PFL. Rothwell thinks that would be a giant fight for his legacy and one that would definitely get him back into MMA, as few would at this stage in his career.

“If I got offered to fight Francis Ngannou, we would have a serious sit down with everybody involved because that’s the kind of fight that I think anybody, any of the guys in my position would want to take,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. “I can’t speak for them, but I 100 percent would take that fight, yes. Indeed. It’s one of those fights that’s a legacy fight.”

Rothwell fought for the UFC from 2009-21. He competed alongside Ngannou in the heavyweight division, but never crossed paths. Ngannou went on to win the UFC belt and then fight out his contract as champion to sign with PFL and pursue a career in boxing. Ngannou recently shocked the world by going the distance with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, losing a controversial split decision.

Rothwell thought Ngannou did well and was proud to see him find success in the boxing world. However, selfishly, he does think that success makes an MMA fight against him unlikely.

“Francis did so good in his boxing match that I think that got really pulled away at this time,” Rothwell said. “They’re talking about trying to match him up with other boxers to do MMA and stuff like that. He’s going to get pulled away to a totally different direction in that world. They’re already talking about him and Tyson Fury having a rematch, so it sounds like he’s got his hands full, but something like that would be fun to come back to, but outside that I’m having a lot of fun with BKFC and I got plenty to do here.”

Rothwell, who’s 2-0 since transitioning to BKFC, returns to the ring on Dec. 2. He takes on former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee in the co-main event of BKFC 56.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420038933]

Video: BKFC 56 pre-fight press conference live stream

Watch the BKFC 56 pre-fight press conference live, featuring Eddie Alvarez, Mike Perry and many others.

The BKFC 56 pre-fight press conference takes place Thursday, and you can watch a live stream of the event right here on MMA Junkie beginning at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT).

The event features seven UFC veterans on the main card and three title fights. Expected to participate in the press conference are main eventers, former UFC champion [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag]. Also, at the press conference will be co-main heavyweights [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Todd Duffee[/autotag], along with BKFC president David Feldman.

BKFC 56 takes place Saturday, Dec. 2 at Maverik Center in Salt Lake City. The main card airs on FITE and the BKFC App.

[lawrence-related id=2690752,2690608]

BKFC 41 results and live stream

Check out the live results for BKFC 41, headlined by Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold, as well as a preliminary card stream here.

BKFC 41 takes place Saturday at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. and some big names from the world of MMA will square off – without gloves.

The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET and is available for purchase on FITE TV. Three prelim bouts will be live-streamed for free, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

The event is headlined by former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] makes his bareknuckle debut as he battles fan-favorite [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag].

In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Eddie Alvarez[/autotag] fights former UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag].

BKFC champion [autotag]Christine Ferea[/autotag] puts her title on the line against former UFC and Bellator fighter [autotag]Bec Rawlings[/autotag]. Also, former UFC heavyweights [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Copeland[/autotag] throw down on the main card.

Check out the full results below, as well as a live and free stream of the prelims above.

BKFC 41 video: Ben Rothwell forces UFC veteran Josh Copeland’s corner to throw in towel after third

Ben Rothwell stopped fellow UFC veteran Josh Copeland after his corner threw in the towel at BKFC 41.

Former UFC heavyweight [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] continues to have success in bareknuckle boxing.

On the main card of BKFC 41 at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., Rothwell stepped into the bareknuckle ring for the second time, to take on fellow UFC veteran Josh Copeland. Both men would leave the ring bloodied, brusied, and swollen, but it would we be Copeland’s corner that called for a stop to the bout after the third round.

Copeland had success early. He busted open a cut under Rothwell’s right eye by landing a right hand within seconds of the fight starting. The two big heavyweights traded hard punches throughout the round. The overhands from Copeland gave Rothwell trouble, but he was able to score with uppercuts and short shots in the clinch.

In the second, Rothwell found the opening he needed to drop Copeland. After beating the count, Rothwell continued to pour on the pressure as the round continued. Copeland was covered up against the ropes when the round concluded.

Rothwell continued his success in the third, but added hard punches to the body to his repertoire. Short punches in the clinch were key for Rothwell, as Copeland didn’t show urgency to escape the position, and essentially just ate damaging strikes until the round concluded.

Between rounds, Copeland’s corner saw enough and threw in the towel to prevent their fighter from taking any further damage.

During his post-fight interview, Rothwell asked the crowd if they wanted to see him take on BKFC heavyweight champion Alan Belcher. The response was loud, and Rothwell told Belcher to fight him or hand over the belt.

After exiting the UFC after 17 fights, Rothwell made his bareknuckle debut at BKFC 30 in October, where he made quick work of Bobo O’Bannon, winning by knockout in just 19 seconds.

[vertical-gallery id=2638706]

UFC veterans in MMA, boxing and bareknuckle action April 27-30

Check out which UFC veterans are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC is back in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex for a key bantamweight bout. In the main event, [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] in a fight scheduled for five rounds.

Elsewhere, many other MMA, boxing and bareknuckle events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

This weekend, there are a total of 24 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and boxing this week from April 21-23.

Check out the names and details about their bouts below.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Training at Team Elevation, Ben Rothwell not worried about cardio issues for BKFC 41 return in Denver

Training at Team Elevation, Ben Rothwell is confident cardio won’t be a problem in his return at Saturday’s BKFC 41 in Denver.

[autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] can breathe easy heading into his return to bareknuckle boxing.

Fighting in Denver may be worrisome to many, given it’s over 5,000 feet above sea level, but not for Rothwell. Ahead of his BKFC 41 bout against Josh Copeland, the former UFC heavyweight contender took his training camp to Team Elevation in Denver to make sure he’s acclimated to the altitude.

This has brought Rothwell a new level of confidence, as he promises cardio won’t be an issue this Saturday.

“The training partners that I had, to my pleasant surprise, were really surprised with how good my cardio was, and I had guys rotating in on me,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. “I went to a gym, and they put me in the middle and had three guys come in on me, and I handled it very well. They were like, ‘Wow, you did really good.’ I did feel it and I didn’t do as much as I normally did, so I knew that I was like not doing my best. So I was just kind of like, ‘Cool, I’m glad you guys think so,’ but as the weeks went on, that all changed and I really got into my groove.

“I can pretty much go until everyone was done. I’m feeling really good.”

[lawrence-related id=2586184]

Rothwell was originally scheduled to fight Josh Watson, who came to fame after knocking out ex-NFL star and UFC veteran Greg Hardy earlier this year.

Rothwell doesn’t mind the opponent change and sees Copeland, although a short-notice replacement, as a formidable foe.

“The day before the press conference, he sent a message, ‘I never agreed to fight in Denver,'” Rothwell said regarding the opponent change. “I don’t think he made the promotion very happy. What kind of excuse is that? He kind of blamed the promotion. It’s silly. It kind of leads me to believe that he didn’t really want to take the fight to be honest. I don’t care. He has to live with it. I’m here to fight.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420038933]