Former UFC heavyweight turned BKFC fighter Ben Rothwell hopes Francis Ngannou gets everything he’s aiming for after walking away from the promotion.
Ngannou, now-former UFC heavyweight champion, could not come to terms with the promotion on a new contract. He had a few requests at the negotiation table beyond monetary compensation, which included health insurance, sponsorship, and a fighter advocate, which were not accepted, resulting in the two parties going their separate ways.
“I don’t think anybody’s seen UFC losing its heavyweight champion,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. “Never happened before, right? Francis got to come out and say, ‘Hey, I was asking for these things.’ Francis a little bit started a fighter union here, man.”
Since his departure, Ngannou said there have been a number of MMA promotions reaching out to secure his services, while hoping to land a massive boxing match against Tyson Fury.
BKFC president David Feldman has also made a play to get a piece of the Ngannou action. If a deal were to come together for Ngannou to fight in bareknuckle boxing, Rothwell said he would be eager to take that fight, even if he knows the public and the sportsbooks would have him as a sizable underdog.
“I’m probably the only one crazy enough to fight Francis bareknuckle,” Rothwell said. “As long as we get paid and have fun, I know the fans would love it. I know I can give a good fight. It’s exciting times.”
On the heels of his 19-second knockout debut win with the promotion in October, Rothwell teased that BKFC has something big on the horizon for him in the coming months, including a matchup against a “big name” opponent. While may be unlikely that Ngannou will be a part of the equation, Rothwell is happy to see one of his fighting peers stand up for what he believes is right.
“What was cool to see is Francis said, ‘I don’t care. I ain’t going to just sign my life away, and you’re not going to continue to tell me what to do,'” Rothwell said. “I think it’s pretty cool that outside there are some opportunities that obviously lured him to do what he’s doing.
“God bless him and I hope he lands it, because it’s only going to help the entire community. That’s what I see. Everything that’s happening, it’s going to help me, all the other organizations, it’s going to help all the fighters.”
