Ben Rothwell Released From UFC Months Before Next Scheduled Bout

UFC veteran Ben Rothwell has been released from the UFC after a lengthy career with the promotion that spanned 13 years.

MMA Fighting was the first to report the news of the UFC letting go of Rothwell.

Rothwell was supposed to face former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in a heavyweight matchup in May. As of the writing of this story, there’s no word on a potential replacement to face Gustafsson at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event.

Rothwell made his UFC debut back at UFC 104 against former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. He would go on to lose that fight via second-round knockout before picking up impressive wins over Gilbert Yvel and Brendan Schaub.

The peak of Rothwell’s UFC tenure came between 2013 and 2016 when he won four fights in a row over the likes of Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett. He appeared on the verge of a potential heavyweight title shot before losing a unanimous decision to Junior dos Santos in April 2016.

Rothwell had four fights canceled in 2021 and only fought twice in the calendar year. He most recently fought against Marcos Rogerio de Lima last November, losing in a 32-second knockout.

The 40-year-old Rothwell will become a free agent for the first time since 2009 and it’s unclear if he intends on moving forward with his MMA career in another promotion. Rothwell has yet to publicly comment on his release.

What MMA promotion do you think should sign Ben Rothwell?

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