Last week was a tough one for me as exams and assignments all piled up and I only ended up with 4 posts instead of the normal 6. Having it be a non fight week only complicated matters, but we should be back to normal this week. In the midst of my personal chaos, we got some weird news that long time UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell was being released. This was especially odd given he had a somewhat high profile fight already on the schedule for late May with former light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson. I just wanted to talk a bit about the situation and Rothwell's overall career. I think that is something I want to do more of. When we see a veteran either retire or get released and have to fight somewhere more low profile, I want to take a post to recognize their career and accomplishments.
As for the release itself, we still don't really have the details that we want. I have to assume that Rothwell was going to pull out of the fight for some reason and that was the cause for the release. Otherwise, they would have booked a fight for Rothwell in February and then released him about 6 weeks out for no reason, which just doesn't make any sense. I find this so strange because while Rothwell wasn't about to push for a title or even a spot in the rankings, he was still a respectable fighter and was getting somewhat decent results. He was 3-2 over his last 5 fights dating back to 2019. Those wins came against Stefan Struve, Ovince St. Preux, and Chris Barnett, while the losses came to Marcin Tybura and Marcos Rogerio de Lima. We've seen the UFC move away from a lot of their longer term veterans in the last few years and I think they're not considering all of the right things. There were some fighters who's level of skill and ability no longer matched their price tag and name status and I can understand allowing those fighters to walk. However, when it comes to Ben Rothwell, I just don't get it. He couldn't have been earning that much that it really was that much of a loss for the UFC. The promotion is so eager to fill half of their cards with contender series winners and cheap fighters that are not well known to anyone except the true hardcores. This is forcing the promotional veterans out of the sport and that makes me a little sad. Just because the prelims can get cheaper doesn't mean they should. The veterans that can fight early on the card and that the fans know are so important and to see them just kicked to the curb is a sad sight. I hope the UFC can hear some of the feedback from the fans and know that we still want some of the older veterans on the roster, especially the ones who we know aren't making huge amounts of money.
Assuming this was at least in part injury related, I hope that Rothwell is ok and is able to fully recover. I haven't seen any statement or interview from him or anything, so it is unclear if he can or wants to continue competing. I am confident that if Ben Rothwell wants to fight, there is a promotion who will give him an opportunity. Heavyweight isn't the deepest weight class in the world, which is only more of a reason that the UFC should have looked to keep him. Of course, there is the possibility that the UFC had little to do with this and Rothwell asked to be released for any number of reasons. If there is something like that going on, I hope Rothwell is ok and he was able to make a choice because he wants to and not because he has to. If this is it for Rothwell, I want to take a moment to tip my cap to him on a great career. Ben made his professional debut all the way back in January of 2001. He would make his UFC debut in 2009 against none other than Cain Velasquez. Rothwell went on to fight some of the best and most notable fighters of his generation including Cain, Mark Hunt, Gabriel Gonzaga, Brendan Schaub, Alistair Overeem, Matt Mitrione, Josh Barnett, Junior Dos Santos, Tim Sylvia, Roy Nelson, and Andrei Arlovski. I want to wish Ben luck in whatever he does next, be it fighting elsewhere or riding off into the sunset to enjoy whatever he has in store for the rest of his life.
As for what this means for Gustafsson is unclear. Ariel Helwani reported that Gustafsson's side wants Ovince St. Preux as the replacement and I'm down to see that fight. I haven't seen anything regarding what weight class that would be at since OSP isn't a typical heavyweight, but we'll see. I'm not sure if Gustafsson is even in a position to go back down to 205 again and even if he could, the short notice of the situation would complicate things. Gustafsson didn't look great in his return fight against Fabricio Werdum, so I was actually looking forward to seeing what he would look like this time around. OSP is the type of opponent I would like to see him against, so I hope that fight can get made. If not, I do hope at the very least they can find someone to keep Gus on the card.
I think that is it for me on this topic. Maybe this isn't the most exciting way to start UFC 273 fight week, but I think it was important. I want to be able to recognize the old guard on their way out and this is the least I can do for them. They put their short and long term health on the line for our entertainment and they've provided me with memories of watching fights with my family that I will remember forever. Best of luck to Ben Rothwell going forward and thanks for all of the great fights. I look forward to seeing what happens with Gustafsson and who he ends up fighting whenever he does make that return. I normally ask what you guys think, but I guess that doesn't really apply here. Instead, leave your favorite Ben Rothwell moment or fight in the comments. Also, who do you want to see Gustafsson fight next? Leave any and all thoughts below, thanks for reading, and have a good one.
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