First, the good news: UFC 195 just got a solid heavyweight bout in its co-main event position.
Now, the bad news: Ben Rothwell is not a part of it.
Any Rothwell fan out there (not to mention Rothwell himself) has to be disappointed at the news broken Wednesday afternoon by Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. The outspoken, heavy-slugging Wisconsinite was lobbying hard for a shot at contender Andrei Arlovski, but instead the high-wattage assignment went to Stipe Miocic, barely a week after Miocic pulled out of his contest with Rothwell at this Saturday's UFC Fight Night 76.
Jan 2nd @ufc needs a Co-Main I nominate @AndreiArlovski vs Me guarantee 2016 Started with a BANG @danawhite @lorenzofertitta @arielhelwani
— Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) October 21, 2015
Apparently, Miocic is a pretty fast healer. And apparently, someone out there doesn't like Ben Rothwell very much.
Gutted Sorry to the fans. Sorry to the @ufc sorry to @RothwellFighter I'll be back soon. But first I'd like to be able to put my socks on
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocicufc) October 13, 2015
On paper, Miocic certainly deserves the matchup. The Ohio native has won four of his last five, with the loss coming last December to Junior dos Santos.
But Rothwell has a strong case of his own. The big man has also won four of five, with the one defeat coming to Gabriel Gonzaga in January 2013.
Miocic is ranked No. 3 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. Rothwell comes in at No. 7, while Arlovski is ranked No. 4.
After Miocic pulled out of this weekend's fight card, Rothwell begged for another opponent, citing his desire to fight and to compete in Ireland, where UFC Fight Night 76 takes place. A rematch with Matt Mitrione, who fell to Rothwell in June, appeared in the works but didn't pan out, and the two subsequently traded blame on social media.
Keep lying and this can happen again @mattmitrione @ufc pic.twitter.com/OqORLsXMj1
— Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) October 14, 2015
It is unclear who, if anyone, Rothwell will face next. But you have to imagine he's ready to cut another fiery promo like this one after seeing his coveted match with Arlovski go to the fighter who backed out of a fight with him not 10 days ago.
For his part, Arlovski certainly deserves this slot, which undoubtedly carries title implications in the heavyweight division. The Pitbull has, at age 36, experienced a stirring career resurgence, winning six in a row including all four of his bouts since returning to the UFC in June 2014.
