Ben Rothwell eyes return at KnuckleMania, says he doubts Greg Hardy will ever fight in BKFC

Ben Rothwell couldn’t have had a better BKFC debut.

Rothwell made his promotional debut at BKFC 30 and scored a 19-second knockout win over Bobo O’Bannon. Heading into the fight, the longtime UFC veteran was confident he would have success in BKFC but didn’t expect his debut to go that well.

“You visualize fights in your head and they don’t always – next to never – go as they are supposed to,” Rothwell said to BJPENN.com. “But, that one was the opposite. I was ready for all these things and I couldn’t have written it any better.”

With Rothwell not taking much damage, he is wanting to return fairly soon as he hopes to be on KnuckleMania in February.

“I’m just waiting on Bare Knuckle but hopefully it will be KnuckleMania in February,” Rothwell said. “They kind of told me to be ready for that, so I’m getting ready. But, there are no talks about an opponent, I just heard Albuquerque in February.”

Although Ben Rothwell isn’t sure who he will fight, he wants anyone that gets him closer to a title shot. He believes he could be one win away from fighting for the belt, but says whoever he fights is ultimately up to David Feldman and BKFC.

“Right now it’s whoever, just getting someone that is willing to get in there. Mick Terrill is probably the guy if I’m going to say a name,” Rothwell said. “He’s the number one contender, Arnold Adams, and Belcher is matched for the title. So, those are off the tables, Terril is supposed to get the next shot so he and I make sense. But, he and I are a main event quality fight so maybe they save it.”

One possible opponent for Ben Rothwell is fellow UFC veteran, Greg Hardy. However, Rothwell says he has heard Hardy is no longer interested in fighting in BKFC so he doesn’t think that matchup will come to fruition.

“A lot of people have mentioned that fight. But, the problem is, I don’t know what his situation is, he is taking some boxing matches,” Rothwell concluded. “Honestly, kind of through the grapevine I heard he isn’t too keen on doing bare knuckle. I asked Dave if that is a fight he was interested in, and he said was, was being key, but he goes I’m not about it anymore. Somebody said something or did something. It doesn’t sound like Dave is too happy with that one.”

Who would you like to see Ben Rothwell fight next?