When they look back at the Dark Lord Ben Rothwell’s surprising turn-around late in his career that eventually led to a four fight winning streak and a possible number one contender’s fight, they’ll point to the cloak.
Likewise, when it all came tumbling down, as Rothwell dropped a five-round unanimous decision to former champion Junior dos Santos this past weekend, they’ll point to the cape.
Over his nearly 50-fight career, Rothwell has enjoyed his fair share of success, only losing against the very best of the heavyweight division. But it wasn’t until late 2013 when we finally started to get a peek into Xadus’ Rothwell’s personality.
When he knocked out Alastair Overeem, the dance was unveiled. Against Matt Mitrione, it was the laugh. Throughout it all, at least until Reebok ruined everything, the cloak was there.
It was as though, over his nearly 16 year career as a professional mixed martial arts fighter, Rothwell was only just beginning to feel comfortable being himself. He’s the nerdy dude that also happens to be a professional athlete. He’s the terrifyingly large human being, at almost 6’5 and 265lbs, who complains about how Star Wars has become too family oriented. He’s the guy ignoring Jon Anik’s attempts at a post-fight interview in favor of a laugh he’s clearly practiced before; in other words, he makes for compelling television.
Within the span of three years Rothwell managed to transform himself from a boring, albeit hairy, behemoth into an oddly compelling fan favorite.
That’s part of why this past weekend sucked if you’re a member of the ‘Big Ben’ fan club. Riding a four-fight winning streak into the main event of UFC Zagreb on Sunday, the smart bet was on Rothwell. While dos Santos did have the added flair of being a former champion, he hadn’t held the belt since 2012 and was only 2-3 coming into the bout.
Maybe Ben Rothwell was looking past the younger dos Santos, too focused on a potential title shot should he get his hand raised at the end of the night. Maybe the flight to Croatia, a grueling trek from his native Kenosha took more of a toll than he had anticipated.
Whatever the reason, Rothwell lost a clean sweep unanimous decision to the Brazilian and, with it, lost all the momentum he’d worked to generate over the last few years
In any other division, especially one like lightweight or featherweight, where the talent pool is much deeper than the AARP sponsored UFC heavyweight crowd, a loss like this would prove disastrous.
You couldn’t beat the former champ? Back of the line, buddy. Better luck next time.
Thankfully (depending on who you ask), heavyweights don’t have to worry so much about job security. You can drop three in a row and still find yourself one win away from a title shot; the nature of the division dictates it.
When there’s not a single person under 30 in the top ten, time is on your side. In fact, at 34, you could argue this loss to dos Santos is but a minor setback on an otherwise long trajectory towards eventual fame and fortune for Rothwell.
Of course, that’s being optimistic. While Rothwell certainly does have the talent and the work ethic to get himself into the higher echelon of the sport, he still has nearly 50 professional cage fights to his name. Coupled with a successful Wisconsin based MMA gym, Rothwell might be nearing the end of his days as a professional fighter.
But that’s what we were saying about Junior dos Santos a week ago. In a sport like MMA, where you’re only as good as your last performance, Ben Rothwell doesn’t need much to go his way before we start mentioning his name amongst the heavyweight elite. In fact, he’s already there.
He just needs his cloak back.
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