“I’m here, it is what it is, and I guess when you’ve been gone for three years and you look at someone like Cain Velasquez, who was gone for two years, he didn’t have a good comeback, and that’s just after two years,” said Rothwell, referring to his former opponent’s recent first-round loss to Francis Ngannou. “And there are many fighters who have taken that role with a year, maybe two off, and things don’t work out too well for them. And I’m going on three years, so I think the critics believe things don’t look too good for me. It is what it is.”
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I remind him that George Foreman took ten years off and then won the heavyweight title in boxing. Then there’s Georges St-Pierre, who won the UFC middleweight crown after nearly four years away from the sport. So he’s not named Georges or George, but there is a precedent for successful returns after long layoffs.
“There are a few fellas out there that have done some good things,” admits Rothwell, before adding, “The public needs to be allowed to think what they’re gonna think. The majority of the world is going to put everything against me, and they should.”
But some fighters are at their best with their back against the wall. Ben Rothwell is ready to prove that he’s one of them.
“People want to know if I’m sad and upset with what happened, and they can think that because I am,” he said. “But it’s time to fill the void. This is me doing what I was meant to do. This is part of who I am. In the UFC, I think there are many athletic guys, I think a lot of guys get there and do well with their athleticism, and I don’t think any of that applies to me. I think it’s something inside of my soul and I’m born to be there.”
