Ben Rothwell may get the match-up he was supposed to get back in Sept. 2016.
Rothwell was originally set to meet former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title holder Fabricio Werdum at UFC 203. “Big Ben” went down with a knee injury and was replaced by Travis Browne.
With UFC 211 approaching, Rothwell is feeling the itch to compete again. He told MMAJunkie.com that there is a good chance he will end up facing “Vai Cavalo” at the event:
“The people that make this stuff happen like it. There’s a strong possibility that’s the way it’s going to go. We’ve just got to make it official.”
UFC 211 is set to take place on May 13 inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. A heavyweight title bout between champion Stipe Miocic and Junior dos Santos is being discussed.
Rothwell hasn’t seen action since April 2016 due to the injury. His last outing didn’t go in his favor. “Big Ben” was battered by dos Santos for five rounds in the unanimous decision loss in Zagreb, Croatia.
Before the defeat, Rothwell was riding an impressive winning streak. During the run, he finished all of his opponents. The streak began with a TKO victory over Brandon Vera. He then stunned former Strikeforce heavyweight title holder Alistair Overeem with a first round TKO.
His gogo choke came in handy for his next two bouts. “Big Ben” first locked in the choke on Matt Mitrione in under two minutes. Even more impressive was his submission win over Josh Barnett, who has a respected grappling background.
Rothwell believes he can return to form and eventually capture the UFC title.
“I am confident. I know when I’m healthy, I know that I can beat any one of those guys out there. I know I’m the best in the world. We can beat each other on separate nights in the top five, but when I’m on, I feel like I can distinctively separate myself from the rest of them.”
