Getty Ben Rothwell (L) and Ovince Saint Preux (R)
Heavyweight combatant Ben Rothwell surprisingly parted ways with the UFC last month, and “Big Ben” recently broke his silence about what transpired.
Rothwell, who fought for the promotion since 2009, was a guest on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. During the interview, Big Ben explained that he asked the UFC for the release and that he signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Big Ben only had one fight left on his UFC contract and the promotion offered him former multiple-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson as an opponent for May. However, his future after the bout was unclear as the UFC didn’t want to negotiate with his team until after the Gustafsson fight, Rothwell told Helwani.
“Me and my management sat back and it’s the last fight on my deal, what comes next?” Rothwell said via MMA Fighting. “What are we going to do? So we went to the UFC and said are we going to sign something? Are we going to get something done ahead for this fight? Cause in my mind, I’ve been kind of seeing the landscape of what’s going on and the timing and where I’m at in the picture. They let go some of the big heavyweights and stuff and I’m like even if I go in and perform well, knockout Gustafsson in the first round, look great, what’s going to happen next?
“We asked them ‘are we going to sign a deal?’ and they’re like ‘let us get back to you.’ They came back and said let’s see what happens after this fight. We talked about it and kind of suspected that was the answer, which kind of left the door open to go out and win and do great and that’s it, we’re going to let you go anyways.”
Big Ben Asked the UFC to Release Him, Has ‘Nothing Bad to Say’ About the Promotion
So, Big Ben told Helwani that he decided to carve his own path, asking the promotion for his walking papers.
“We asked for our release in February,” Rothwell revealed. “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.”
Big Ben Is Now a Bare-Knuckle Fighter
Big Ben said during the interview that he has signed a three-fight deal with BKFC, which he calls a “very good deal.”
“BKFC came with the best offer,” Rothwell said. “Made me very excited. I believe that it’s a place for me because I was doing BKFC long before MMA. It’s something that I’m a part of in my life. Something my grandfather was doing, probably not legally, but he had a history of it and it’s in my blood. I’m really excited to be with them.
“It’s a very good deal for me. In short term, yes, it’s a better deal [than the UFC]. I can’t really get into numbers but let’s just say I’m a six-figure fighter and I win my next three fights, I’ll make seven figures. It’s a very good deal.”
Rothwell hopes to make his BKFC debut this summer. He has a professional mixed martial arts record of 39-14 and is 40 years old.