Ben Rothwell points to his track record in response to anyone questioning the circumstances surrounding his fight-week withdrawal at BKFC 56.
Rothwell was announced to be out of his scheduled heavyweight matchup with fellow former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee this past Saturday just two days before the event. He came down with an illness early in the week, and despite trying to find a path to a quick recovery and the chance to compete, it simply wasn’t in the cards.
“Right now in my area of Wisconsin, we’re facing the highest cases of COVID and the flu ever,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. “Not just for the year, but ever. I got, not quite a 3-year-old, but a little baby. He does daycare. No blaming him, either, but everyone with children knows it increases your chances, so just doing our best to be healthy. I’ve been good, I’ve been doing awesome, and then Sunday night rolls around, he starts getting sick. I get worried; I panic. Monday, it’s starting to get worse. So I call my management, and we talked to Dave (Feldman) and they’re like, ‘Let’s just see. Maybe it passes.’ So we’re trying.
