Rothwell (photo) hopes to face Cigano after knocking out Overeem. Photo: Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC
Ben Rothwell made ambitious plans for his UFC future days after his KO alistair overeem at UFC Fight Night 50, held last Friday (5). The North American giant, who is now ninth in the official heavyweight rankings, hopes to face the former champion of the category junior gypsy, which is second on the list.
Rothwell believes that a victory over the Brazilian would bring him very close to competing for the belt, which currently belongs to Cain Velazquez. “I don't know if Júnior dos Santos already has an opponent, but he hasn't fought since he lost to Cain Velazquez. This is a fight that interests me the most. I don't want to fight anyone else but him. Beating him would put me in the position of a challenger for the belt”, said Rotwhell, who already lost to Velasquez in 2009, by technical knockout.
The American revealed that, during his fight with Overeem, he was irritated by his opponent's insistence on stomping on his knee. “I almost shouted at him in the fight. He was throwing some dirty kicks at my knee. This is not honorable in my opinion because this is not a street fight. If you want to fight like this, then I'll start. I will gouge out your eyes, I will pull your jugular with my teeth and I will break you. To me, stepping on knee joints is as dirty a message as that. Fortunately, the fight was over before he kicked again,” he declared.
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