Getty Images Ben Rothwell of the United States fights Ovince Saint Preux.
Fan-favorite UFC fighter Ben Rothwell has been released by the promotion, according to a report from MMA Fighting.
The heavyweight fought for the first time in the UFC in 2009 and he competed inside the octagon a total of 17 times. As per the outlet, Rothwell was scheduled to fight former three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson on May 21, so it’s surprising that “Big Ben” is no longer on the promotion’s roster.
“As of now, there’s no word on what exactly led to Rothwell’s release or who will be replacing him in the fight against Gustafsson on May 21,” MMA Fighting, who confirmed the news with UFC officials, reported.
Rothwell parts ways with the UFC boasting a professional mixed martial arts record of 39-14, with 28 wins coming via KO/TKO and seven by submission.
He last fought on November 13, 2021, when he fell to Marcos Rogerio de Lima by first-round TKO at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez.
Big Ben Has Fought Several Notable UFC Heavyweight
Big Ben, 40, has been in the cage opposite several notable UFC combatants. In his promotional debut, he drew future-heavyweight king Cain Velasquez and lost by second-round TKO.
He’s met other former heavyweight champions as well, including Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos and Josh Barnett.
Rothwell took on and beat big names like Alistair Overeem, Matt Mitrione, Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve. Big Ben is 3-2 in his last five fights, beating Struve, Ovince Saint Preux and Chris Barnett, and losing to de Lima and Marcin Tybura.
Rothwell Said Before His Last Fight That He Has Much More He Wants to Accomplish
Ahead of his fight with De Lima last November, the 40-year-old combatant gave an update on where was in his fighting career.
“There’s some guys who are retired who are younger than me, and then there’s guys at 42 years old who do the most amazing things,” Rothwell said to MMA Junkie. “It’s MMA, you just don’t know. Honestly, it’s in God’s hands. My fire and drive is very much there because there’s a lot of I want to do and prove. Certainly prove and again remind everybody that I am one of the best heavyweights on the planet. But I have to win all my fights from here on until the time is done. I don’t know how long that is. I’m not Andrei Arlovski. I’m not totally Benjamin Button, but I do get told that I’m looking good for 40.”
UFC 273 Is Up Next
The next UFC event goes down on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida. UFC 273 features two title clashes at the top of the bill, as well as a highly anticipated battle between two welterweight standouts. See the full fight card below:
Main Card
Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski vs Chan Sung Jung
Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan
Welterweight: Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Women’s Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Heavweight: Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik
Preliminary Card
Women’s Bantamweight: Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington
Welterweight: Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks
Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd
Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
Early Preliminary Card
Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
Bantamweight: Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
Lightweight: Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
Women’s Strawweight: Kay Hansen vs. Piera Rodriguez