Ben Rothwell hopes Mark Signs with company, wants rematch

Ben Rothwell is concentrated on capturing the BKFC heavyweight championship, but sees some compelling potential fights on the horizon.

If all goes perfectly for Rothwell, he’ll defeat Todd Duffee on Saturday at BKFC: KnuckleMania 4 at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, then go on to challenge the winner of the night’s co-main event between champ Lorenzo Hunt and Mick Terrill.

Once that’s done, Rothwell, 42, said he’ll assess the state of his profession.

“I feel if I am going out and perform the best way I actually have been, I feel there’s a excellent probability I can get myself to a title shot,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve got to get through Todd Duffee. That’s the very first thing, an important thing – not only get through him. I’ve got to make it look it good, too.

“I can’t just win the belt. I actually have to stay around and defend it. That’s the plan: Keep winning so long as my body holds up.”

If Rothwell gets through the subsequent two fights and holds that BKFC belt, he said it will be hard to disregard the potential options on the table. He said he’s heard rumblings of names like Roy Nelson, Cain Velasquez and even Mark Hunt as individuals who could join BKFC’s heavyweight division.

He thinks Hunt, who he suffered a unanimous decision loss against at UFC 135 in September 2011, is definitely the closest of the bunch to signing a BKFC contract.

If Hunt is ultimately brought in, Rothwell said that’s the sort of fight he thinks could possibly be significant traction to each himself and the BKFC brand.

“Obviously, there’s loads of talk of Mark Hunt coming in,” Rothwell said. “Some individuals are built different. He’s just an especially old, tough man who has dangerous fists. … I hear things that he desires to get a pair fights in before he would fight for the title. Then he’s got his people like, ‘He gets the subsequent title fight.’ Without fighting in BKFC yet? He’s good at promoting. He’s a reputation that brings eyes to him, and that’s all the time what’s appealing to BKFC is guys which have that following and fight a certain way.

“Mark Hunt has all of that. (It will be a) big fight for me though it will be a rematch. It’s a fight I would love to get back.”

For more on the cardboard, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC: KnuckleMania 4.