The Ben Rothwell truth: I have the strongest claim to a UFC heavyweight title shot

Surging UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell has some ideas about the way things have played out and what should be done after ex-champ Cain Velasquez and current champ Fabricio Werdum had injury withdrawals from fights.

Velasquez pulled out of his title rematch with Werdum, and Stipe Miocic was given a shot at the belt at UFC 196. But then Werdum pulled out of the fight with Miocic with an injury, forcing UFC 196 to be downgraded from pay-per-view to FOX Sports 1, now called UFC Fight Night 82, at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

No disrespect to the UFC, he said, but it’s been a “huge mess” that needs to be cleaned up. And no surprise, he believes the solution lies in giving him a title shot over Velasquez (13-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) or Miocic (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in Las Vegas – but at UFC 200. That’s where Rothwell, who recently notched his fourth straight win with a submission of Josh Barnett (34-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC), wants to meet champ Werdum (20-5-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC).

It’s best to let the pride of Kenosha, Wis., speak for himself, because these days, he isn’t shy about speaking up. You might not get a crazy post-fight speech out of him every time, but he will tell you exactly what’s what in the heavyweight division.

And here’s what Rothwell told MMAjunkie Radio on Monday:

“So this is directly to the UFC – awesome company,” he said. “They’re doing phenomenal things all the time, and look at the mess they had to deal with just last week. They had a huge mess, and they have to redo everything, and it’s pretty amazing how they put things together and keep these shows going. I still think it’s a great show; I’m going to watch (Stephen) ‘Wonderboy’ (Thompson) and (Johny) Hendricks. I think it’s a great fight – but it’s not a heavyweight title fight. So it definitely left them with a huge mess, and left them still with a big mess to deal with.

“And why did this whole thing begin? Because Cain pulled out, again. It’s one thing to say if a guy had a really good career and he pulled out and hasn’t had many injuries and it happens. OK, there’s some forgiveness, we can redo it. But this isn’t the case. Before this fight was booked, people already said, ‘Wow, the amount of injuries Cain’s had in his career.’ The guy sat on a belt for five years, and he fought the same three guys, and the course of that defined his championship run.

“My question to the UFC is, how much money did Cain Velasquez just cost the company in advertising costs? After the show was canceled, you’re still watching FOX and you’re seeing the commercial for it, and it’s just like, damn, that’s a lot of money. So not only has he done this in the past, now he’s just cost the company money right now.

“That, to me, does not warrant a title shot, does not warrant a reward. When you pull out of a title fight like that, to me, I take it like a loss. No, it doesn’t go on your record, but you cost yourself a lot. You cost your record, you cost your opponent, you cost the organization, you cost the fans. And why he should be rewarded? He did get his immediate rematch, and he effed it up. That’s it. We all need to move along now.

“So (Velasquez) got this surgery he needs to deal with; they’re predicting a quick turnaround. If it’s anything to do with a back surgery, I do not see a one-month recovery, a three-month recovery. I think it’s absurd. Maybe it’s not as bad as they were saying then. Who knows. Then you’ve got Werdum, who was going to fight him still. And I think he was going to fight Werdum, and the reason Werdum messed up is he said that he would have fought (Cain), but he wouldn’t fight Stipe. It doesn’t sound like an injury, it sounds like pay-per-view dollar points is what he was after.

“Was Stipe going to bring the same amount of pay-per-view buys as Cain? A lot of hardcore fans say, oh yeah, it’s a more exciting fight, but the everyday fans, no way. Let’s face it – Cain has a country of people that are willing to tune in and watch and we’ve seen the effectiveness when you get a country behind you, as we’ve seen with Conor McGregor.

“Werdum knows this, and knows Cain was going to up the pay-per-view points. Once that fight got canceled, he was thinking about his pocketbook. He wasn’t thinking like a champion, in a sense, and it was easy for him to say, ‘Well, Stipe’s pulled out of a fight with a back injury, and Cain just pulled out of a fight with a back injury, so guess what everybody? I’ve got a back injury, too – you can’t mess with me.’

“So there you go, Werdum. Way to go. Way to play that. But I think the fans did not take it as well as they took Stipe and Cain and they all turned on him. Maybe rightfully so, because let’s see some X-rays and some doctor’s scans of how bad the injury was.

“Whatever the case is, Stipe said, ‘Hey, I’m going to come in.’ He’s ready to go, and I understand. So there’s your chance, Stipe. And then he was so upset that they pulled out with a back injury. And I’m like, oh, that’s terrible. Your guy pulled out with a back injury just two weeks out from the fight. That really sucks, huh? I know what that’s like, Stipe, because you did the same thing to me a few months ago.

“So (Miocic) pulls out with an injury, and I say it was a reward (http://mmajunkie.com/2015/10/andrei-arlovski-vs-stipe-miocic-set-as-ufc-195-co-main-event). The UFC says, ‘No, it was not a reward – it was rankings. Andrei (Arlovski) was 4th, he was 3rd, you and Josh Barnett were 6th and 7th at the time, so we’re just matching up according to rankings.’ (Author’s note: Miocic said he offered to fight Rothwell or Arlovski, and the UFC chose the latter.) That was their excuse for the current heavyweight dealings at this point and time.

“So this is the way the heavyweight division is being run right now. Fine. So that happens and he gets the Arlovski fight. Good. Great for him. He beats Arlovski, who I feel his win streak was not as powerful as my current four-fight win streak. I knew I wanted that fight, because I feel like (Arlovski’s) on his way out, as well. Stipe knew it, and he got the fight. He got the big, great win. You got your second win in a row. Congrats. You pulled out of a fight against me, and you’re on a two-fight win streak. I do not think that warrants a title shot any more, when I have a four-fight win streak, and you pulled out against me three months ago. So I feel like I have the strongest stake at the title.

“What about Alistair Overeem and his three-fight win streak? Yeah, too bad. Who was his last loss against? Me. I knocked him out. So move along with him, as well. A lot of rumors going around that he might not be in the picture. Bottom line is, he’s about money. Most of these guys that are fighting are about themselves and the dollar bill.

“That’s why I’m going to continue to win, and once I have the belt, I’m not going to talk about what I’m going to do and why I’m going to be a different champion. I’m going to show the world. But I’m letting the world know why I’m going to be champion, and that’s because I’m fighting for something greater than myself. And they’ve all shown their cards; they’ve all shown me what they’re fighting for – they fight for themselves. I have a power behind me that they can’t possibly comprehend, and I will not be stopped. And I’m going to defend the title.

“I think Cain should wait, maybe Stipe and Overeem should be the No. 1 contender fight. I would love to fight Werdum on UFC 200 in Vegas. I’ve had over 40 professional fights, I’ve fought all over the world, and believe it or not, I’ve never fought in Las Vegas. So I feel there’s great destiny behind this.”

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