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After dropping two of his past three fights, UFC heavyweight standout Ben Rothwell appears to be at a professional crossroads. One direction leads the heavy-handed former IFL standout back to contender status in the UFC's heavyweight division, while the other could pigeon hole him as a gatekeeper with the organization, or worse spell his dismissal from the ever-roster-tightening promotion altogether.
He'll step in against another man likely vying for his UFC livelihood, when he squares off against noted Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel at UFC 114 on June 12.
Rothwell, who holds big notable wins over Krzysztof Soszynski (x2), TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson, and former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez, entered the UFC late last year with much anticipation from hardcore fans who were well aware of the massive knockout power he possesses, as well as his ability to put on a show and finish fights.
He was pared against undefeated rising heavyweight star Cain Velasquez in official debut with the organization last October, but fell victim to Velasquez's superior wrestling in the first round, and a controversial stoppage in the second, which awarded Velasquez a TKO.
Eager to show UFC fans all he has to offer, Rothwell sat down with FiveKnuckles.com to shed a little light on his colorful history, his loss to Velasquez, his upcoming fight against Yvel, and much more.
FiveKnuckles.com: You had your first fight at 17-years-old. You weren't even an adult yet, but were already fighting professionally. Please explain.
Ben Rothwell: I was about 6'4", 230-lbs., but went on this crazy diet to get as skinny as I could get and got down to 172-lbs. I got back up to 240-lbs. the next year, and was up to 270-lbs. my senior year of high school. I wasn't nearly as strong and didn't have any "man strength" yet. I definitely looked like a kid. I wanted to learn martial arts, I wanted to learn how to defend myself.
My trainer came from the Miletich Camp and came down here to coach in Wisconsin. The only reason I went there is because they had jiu-jitsu, and it was the only place in town that taught it. I didn't even know what jiu-jitsu was, it just sounded cool. All I knew is, I didn't want to learn Tao-Kwon-Do or Karate. I wanted to learn something more like kickboxing, but I didn't know anything. I didn't know UFC or really anything about anything (laughs). The only thing that helped me is I called the other places and found out the costs involved. This guy says, "Hey come in for a week and try it out." I said cool, and of course jiu-jitsu is all about the ground. I had these little 155-pound dudes choking me, arm-barring me, taking my back, and then the whole idea and realization of what fighting is all came to me. It was a big education process.
Then I started watching some UFC's, and a month-and-a-half later the coach was like, "Hey, want to go to a fight?" I was really scared and like, "What, what are you talking about?" Kai Hanson had started the same day I did and he was a 180-pounder and was like "I'll do it." The trainer at the time was like, "Are you going to let him go by himself?" So I went reluctantly and fought in a tournament. My very first fight is on the internet, and is the worst fight in MMA history. My second fight was with a 30-year old who I was really scared...
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