LOS ANGELES – It goes down as a victory for Ben Rothwell, however Saturday’s anticipated BKFC KnuckleMania 4 showdown with Todd Duffee wasn’t what he needed.
Rothwell (3-0) and fellow former UFC heavyweight Duffee (0-1) got here out firing after the opening bell, with Rothwell pulling down Duffee twice within the first 0:43 seconds of their bout at Peacock Theater. The second time proved to be the end as Duffee suffered an obvious proper shoulder damage when he fell to the canvas. He instantly pointed to it, forcing referee Dan Miragliota to wave off the combat.
Rothwell, whom Duffee laid into verbally after he fell in poor health and pulled out of their initially scheduled bout final December, expressed his frustration afterward.
“No, I got here right here to knock him the f*ck out for all of you,” Rothwell stated throughout his post-fight interview. “He clipped my nostril, and I used to be about to get my payback. He obtained hit the primary time he obtained knocked down, and the combat was already over there. I simply wanted to get one good connection, and this might’ve been a great, clear knockout. I can’t management my opponent.
I’m sorry to everyone, man. I got here right here to carry out. You possibly can see the work I put in. I got here right here to get myself right into a title combat.”
Whether or not or not that’ll occur after a victory earned due to an damage stays to be seen, however Rothwell took his shot on microphone.
“After all, (a title shot) is what I need,” Rothwell stated. “However the efficiency obtained taken away from me simply now. I feel everyone is aware of what I’m about and what I used to be going to do. Thanks. The followers of BKFC know as a result of I’m combating for all of you. I’m going to get that belt. I’m going to go in there and signal each autograph and take each photograph I can with all of you. That is what I do it for.”
Along with a disappointment for Rothwell by no fault of his personal, the combat was much more so for Duffee, whose return to MMA after a four-year hiatus didn’t go effectively final yr as he misplaced by first-round TKO to KSW champion Phil De Fries in February 2023. Now he’s adopted that up with an unlucky damage defeat in his BKFC debut.
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