Ben Rothwell is coming off a losing effort in his UFC debut against rising contender Cain Velasquez back at UFC 104. However, with UFC guys getting the axe after consecutive losses nowadays, he knows he can't afford to lose two in a row. He'll be taking on Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 110, and Rothwell plans to be ready even though Mirko is on the downside of his career. Rothwell spoke with UFC.com about what he thinks Cro Cop will bring come fight time:
"We would never disrespect the sport in taking anybody lightly," said Rothwell. "We’re planning to fight the 2001 Cro
Cop . He accepted the fight, and when everybody’s telling you that you’re no good and can’t do it anymore, and you take a fight, there’s something to be said about that. That means he’s coming to fight. I know without a doubt that this man is gonna come hard. When he’s moving around fast and doing his thing, people are gonna be like ‘oh man, we haven’t see this Cro Cop,’ but I’m not gonna be surprised.""It’s a tough fight, another big fight, and people get credit for beating Cro Cop because he’s not just a nobody," he said. "He is a tough guy, and people can say what they want about where he’s at, but I’d like to see them get in the ring with him, because they’d get pretty scared then real quick. (Laughs) The guy’s dangerous, there’s no doubt about it, and he’s still got fight in him, so it’s gonna be a good fight and definitely a fight that I want to win."
Both fighters have KO power with multiple KO wins on their resume's. Rothwell will be the larger of the two fighters, and Cro Cop has seemed to have had problems with larger fighters lately. A loss here for either fighter could certainly be impactful on their careers. Can Mirko pull another highlight reel KO out of his hat, or will Rothwell cement himself in the UFC with a win?
SBN coverage of UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez
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