Ben Rothwell has shown support for Francis Ngannou leaving the UFC.
‘The Predator’ chose to part ways with the UFC for reasons beyond money. Ngannou’s courage has inspired a majority of the MMA community, including Rothwell, who currently fights for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. ‘Big’ joined MMA Junkie Radio for an interview and had this to say about the former UFC heavyweight champion:
“What was cool to see is Francis said, ‘I don’t care. I ain’t going to just sign my life away, and you’re not going to continue to tell me what to do. I think it’s pretty cool that outside there are some opportunities that obviously lured him to do what he’s doing…”
Rothwell continued by saying:
“God bless him, and I hope he lands it, because it’s only going to help the entire community. That’s what I see. Everything that’s happening, it’s going to help me, all the other organizations, it’s going to help all the fighters.”
Ngannou chose not to re-sign with the UFC after defending the heavyweight title for the first time. The 36-year-old has various options as a free agent. He seems motivated to try professional boxing, but Tyson Fury and other big-name boxers are currently focused on fighting for world championships. If ‘The Predator’ shockingly wants to fight bare-knuckle, Rothwell is willing to be his first opponent.
Ben Rothwell is willing to fight Francis Ngannou in BKFC
Ben Rothwell parted ways with the UFC after losing by a first-round TKO against Marcos Rogerio de Lima in November 2021. The 41-year-old signed with BKFC and looked impressive in his promotional debut, securing a 19-second knockout in October. During the same interview with MMA Junkie Radio, Rothwell called out Francis Ngannou for a bare-knuckle fight by saying:
“I’m probably the only one crazy enough to fight Francis bare-knuckle. As long as we get paid and have fun, I know the fans would love it. I know I can give a good fight. It’s exciting times.”
Although Ngannou likely won’t be signing with BKFC, Rothwell deserves a main event opportunity after dominating Bobo O’Bannon. Greg Hardy recently joined BKFC with his promotional debut on February 17. If ‘The Prince of War’ wins at Knuckle Mania 3, he could be the perfect main event opponent for ‘Big.’
Ben Rothwell knocks out his opponent in just 19 seconds in his BKFC debut.pic.twitter.com/60N3cYloMm
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) October 2, 2022
