After Miocic withdrawal, Ben Rothwell really, really wants to fight Junior Dos Santos

Matt Mitrione and Ben Rothwell

UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell had an outline for his post-fight speech in the event he beat Stipe Miocic at UFC Fight Night 76.

He did not plan to laugh maniacally, as he did in his previous fight. That stuff is of the moment.

Rothwell (35-9 MMA, 5-3 UFC), however, planned to call for a fight with ex-champ Junior dos Santos (17-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC), the opponent he believes is the gateway to a title shot.

“Beating Stipe, I still know I’m questionable as the No. 1 contender, and how am I going to convince everybody? I have to beat Junior Dos Santos,” Rothwell today told MMAjunkie Radio. “That was the message. It would probably make it happen.”

But alas, Rothwell is now left to ponder his future after Miocic withdrew this week from the UFC Fight Pass-streamed card on Oct. 24 at 3Arena in Dublin. After the UFC failed to find a replacement opponent, the only thing he’ll be fighting is the crowds from the sold-out event.

Miocic (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) said he was “gutted” to pull out of the event, but couldn’t put his shoes on due to his injury. His manager, meanwhile, told MMAjunkie the injury wasn’t serious enough to keep him from fighting before the end of the year.

Rothwell said he had no animosity toward Miocic about the withdrawal despite his frustration over the shift, which leaves his future uncertain. He said the bulk of his potential opposition is already booked and unless he gets an injury-replacement slot, he might not be able to fight until February or March of 2016.

His desired opponent, Dos Santos, is one of those heavyweights that already has a fight. The ex-champ meets up with ex-Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem in a long-delayed grudge match on Dec. 19 at UFC on FOX 17.

“I already put my name out there and said if somebody falls out in the Overeem or Dos Santos fight, I’ll be there,” Rothwell said. “I don’t wish anything bad to happen, but I really want to fight Junior Dos Santos. The whole thing would make sense if that happens.”

Rothwell’s previous opponent, Matt Mitrione, certainly made his voice heard online as he campaigned for a rematch. He claimed the UFC offered him the bout, which Rothwell disputes.

In any event, the veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 10” is yet another heavyweight who is already booked for a fight, scheduled to face Travis Browne on Jan. 17 at UFC Fight Night 81. It’s for this reason, Rothwell said, that a rematch is off the table.

“Matt Mitrione was really campaigning for this thing, but he also knows that legally, he’s signed,” he said. “If he did fight and he got hurt, there’s legal issues right there. The whole thing is stupid.”

Mitrione claimed the UFC was willing to make a concession to put the bout together, inking a one-fight addendum to his contract, which had one fight remaining. Rothwell, however, said that’s not possible.

Furthermore, he indicated that a fight with with an opponent “behind me” isn’t worthwhile.

“It’s just being me before I was in the UFC,” he said. “It’s just another fight. These fights have to mean something.”

And to Rothwell, there’s only a few opponents that meet that criteria. There’s Andrei Arlovski, who enjoys a four-fight win streak and handed him a knockout loss in 2008, and there’s Junior Dos Santos.

Rothwell would like to announced to the UFC and fans that he can beat champions so they’ll let him fight one.

“I asked to fight a No. 1 contender,” he said. “Junior Dos Santos is a guy that beat Stipe; he is a guy that knocked out Cain Velasquez. That’s the fight that I need. It says everything with my actions. I let the world know who I am.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 76, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.