The heavyweight division in the UFC is perhaps the most exciting one of the lot. It comprises a new champion at the helm and a seemingly unending line of top fighters who make a case for getting a title shot sometime soon. With his win over Chris Barnett last weekend, Ben Rothwell further cemented his place as a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Rothwell is usually known for his knockout prowess. He has secured over 70% of his wins via knockout. However, against Barnett, Rothwell displayed his versatility by securing the 7th submission win of his career.
Read More:- ‘There’s nobody better than me on top’- Luke Rockhold not afraid to take on Israel Adesanya
In a recent interview, Rothwell was asked to share his thoughts on his performance against Barnett and how he thinks he stacks up against the rest of the heavyweight division.
Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) puts the UFC heavyweight division on notice.
"I can beat everybody in the top 10 including the champ. I get a hold of your neck and it's over." 😳@MMAjunkieRadio's full interview: https://t.co/KNhLmyRHNK pic.twitter.com/7ABw5baiEP
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) May 28, 2021
Rothwell said, “I submitted one of the best submission artists in the planet with it. And I got a third submission. It kinda re-awoke something in me that I know I have a huge advantage over the rest of the heavyweight division. A huge advantage. Like distinctively I can beat everybody in the top 10 including the champ. I get a hold of your neck man, it’s over. But I can’t wait to show you guys all the other submissions I got.”
Ben Rothwell is the dark horse at heavyweight
From April 2016 to July 2019 Rothwell succumbed to three straight losses against the likes of Junior dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov, Andrei Arlovski. Rothwell then impressively bounced back and beat Stefan Struve and Ovince St. Preux, before losing to Marcin Tybura.
In his most recent outing, he secured a second-round guillotine-choke win over Chris Barnett. With that, he once again proved that despite a mixed bag of recent results, he remains a force to be reckoned with in the division.
Rothwell is currently unranked in the division. The dark horse will aim to build on his recent win in order to break into the top 15 in an extremely talent-stacked roster.
What did you make of Ben Rothwell’s performance against Chris Barnett? Do you think he can beat champion Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments below!
