Ben Rothwell raises eyebrow at BKFC tourney, but knows Andrei Arlovski looms

What's going on junkie nation gorgeous Georgian goes checking in with the big man himself the BKFC heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell. He has signed a fight at knuckle mania early in 2026 Ben I can't believe a whole year has gone by man since the last time we saw you real cool Mr. Gorgeous. Well, I don't sign. I'm not the matchmaker So what what's what happened in one year that you didn't get booked again well, I was on a poster to be the main event in Australia and That would have been July 13th was the the date for that. So I should have fought six months ago unfortunately, Perth the county of Perth the state the state of Perth Australia Their their government they're very liberal government stepped in and said, you know, this is too barbaric We don't want it Get rid of it. They came down on the Commission really hard and essentially they got it banned completely banned in Australia The funny thing is that two weeks after we were officially done The UFC went on for sale for a September event in Perth, Australia Isn't that funny? Yeah Well, I saw that against Alex Simon it was in the middle of the year, but that's still 365 days nothing else came up. I thought I'd fight on October 4th event in New Jersey I was really looking forward to like that. I was gonna be good big card planning up here was the main event you know, it's kind of the whole thing and I heard I heard they told me initially I was going to and then it didn't and then I was getting told, you know You're gonna fight November maybe December this that something big I didn't know how big you know, and I didn't know about a main event I'm just like I just want to fight. I've been the co-main event multiple times it's kind of like what I'm used to it's what I'm doing and Boy, did they drop a surprise on me? I'm not just a main event I'm the main event of the biggest BK FC and the company's history We're looking to outsell the one that I was called main event on January 25th when I won the title It was a massive event 17,700 fans we sold out the Wells Fargo arena. They've readjusted and now it's the Xfinity mobile arena, they've done readjusted some seating and we can beat that record and They've already sold out half of it with but it hasn't even been advertised yet. They've already sold half the arena so I'm looking for another sellout and the Philadelphia crowd is probably The most exciting crowd I've ever got to fight him so it for me it was such a high moment not just to win the title but to win the title in front of that fans and I must have made an impact because Now I get the main event on the biggest event in the incredible fight town of Philadelphia. So I'm Pretty excited. Can't you tell we can and folks? Yes, but it's a Knuckle mania 6 on February 7th. His opponent will be on their Lasky So I guess in essence you were healthy this year. It wasn't on you that you weren't fighting I'll just put it out there. There's this there's lots of comments I'm pretty sure it's just a couple people that make multiple accounts, you know They act like rats and they go on social media and they see all this stuff. Why is he fighting this other guy? Why do you think this guy that's got this bigger record than Andre blah blah blah and they keep putting Ben's running Ben's hiding Ben don't sign the contract even the opponent says I don't sign the contract I'm like, there's not how this is not how this works at all. I don't pick they're like this is who you're fighting I go, okay They have to send me a contract the company makes the fights the company's decides how it goes This is a huge is obviously we're huge to two big names To put on this card there's a reasoning for everything and a lot of it I don't even know and understand on the behind the scenes of the business of everything and Frankly, I don't care I get to be in the main event on this massive event and I know what I need to do and I know what I have what I go in front of me and that's that's all really that matters What I did remember was last year before the Terrell fight You were come you're meeting deadlines to complete that beautiful gym behind you So you were kind of like juggling a bunch of things you pulled it off because the gym is there looks great You won the fight and so going back to the gym Has everything panned out as you wanted is everything pretty much complete as you wanted. I'm not gonna have that crazy outside stress of juggling multiple things This time around. I don't know that's good or bad me that that pressure on me But I can only see it as a good thing Because a lot of that pressure had nothing to do with the fight. It was just like we had a lease that we had to be out January 1st, they're like listen, the new tenants are gonna start knocking down walls and building and We got this open officially December 26. So pretty close We pretty pretty close and I mean I had family and friends and everybody working around the clock My brother put in numerous hours to put those cage panels up and put those mats in behind me right right at the end everything was like done and then you're like the one last step is I just got to move the old gym to the new gym and that well, it's not as easy to think it was a I think I had something like 53 of my friends and family showed up with trucks and trailers and everything and then one, you know within one day We moved the gym over but once all the stuff got over here About 50 of those people left and then like my brother and a couple like, you know very hard-working guys stayed and started putting the cage panels in they had to cut the puzzle pieces and That stuff just it's just tedious takes time and they were just working around the clock those last couple weeks But we got it done So I'm just very thankful that my gym it kind of represented my gym had done for the last Almost 14 years. We built a community, you know We built a community and people really rallied around us and they wanted to make sure the gym was open and gonna do good And so it's it's what it's about like my name's on it, but I always say I would have named it Whatever. It's it's the Kenosha's gym. This is a Kenosha's martial arts gym because that's It's not it doesn't matter where this gym goes. The community is what makes it and that's what rallied around and made it happen anyway The pressure is still on like I have this to represent though. You know what I mean? I'm like I played for the fans But I also fight for what's behind me is like a group of people that are really they put a lot into me They helped me train. They show up, you know, we're a year later. We're still we're still open You know, we made it made it our first year And we've only we've grown, you know, I mean we added on a little over a hundred more memberships From the old place to the new place. So all of that is good. The community is great and I'm really just locked in and focused. I've been in a training camp the whole year though Yeah, I didn't fight for the year, which is a bummer. My opponent went and got three fights knocked out of the way So so Andre is sharp and ready. He's coming for me, but I trained the whole year I thought I was gonna fight early summer. Then it was the middle of summer. Then it was October I've just been in this non-stop training camp and I just really trying to make sure I put in my rest period so I don't Get burnt out and I could fight right now. I mean, let's just be serious I'll let goes ask the next few questions since you're ready to fight. I want none of that. Go ahead goes Well, obviously you have a history with Andre But it was mixed martial arts and everybody talks about bare-knuckle being such a different beast Is there anything you can take though from those exchanges before that can be applied? Oh, it's just one big thing. The very first time I fought him was 2008 I was on a Bing with big win streak, but Andre had been on the big big stages you know and I mean he'd been already been a UFC champ and Been in the big big spotlight and they always talk about the UFC jitters and stuff like that well, I Came up and then I got to the IFL and the IFL was like a good place Like I thought I knew what the big lights was about and then the affliction event was like all of the UFC event You know was sold out Anaheim, California crazy, you know, honestly that had After after I went to the UFC and even the UFC it was like the promotion All like flying around the country doing all the stuff you see didn't do it wasn't even that like like the affliction really was this massive event for me a lot of stuff went into it and I didn't want it to happen. But 20 year old Ben just didn't pull the trigger I just got in I was very hesitant. I Respect him. I really I've watched him for many years and we have mutual respect for each other I think you know outside of fighting He's a guy that I would totally be friends with like most of these guys that I fight like Mick Terrell Same thing really really like these guys outside of fighting But Andre is a competitor and the night of the fight. He don't give a ---- who I am He becomes the pitbull and I become something darker and we're gonna clash and it's gonna be the fans that win But that hesitation even though it's just a split You know a little bit a little bit of hesitation a little bit of not being myself That's all Andre needed to get a win, especially at that high level and he was ready He was he was ready. He went in there and he fought really good and then fast-forward about 10 years and we meet again in UFC so I should have the jitters out of me and all that but there was another set of circumstances that It's more personal my management knows Several UFC medical directors were fired like I'll just I don't want to make excuses But just say there were some major things that happened and even with all that against me I still made sure Andre knew he was in a fight in the third round I was pretty sure I was very very close to beating him that night. He won a decision Same thing though. He started getting off. He was more aggressive in the first couple rounds. He got enough points He got you know, he got the decision that night, but I know that Give me another round or give me a just another minute and I'm pretty sure that I had that fight one Doesn't matter he's got two wins against me and with all that said and done He got those on me and he you know Those were major events for both of us and they helped him out in his career But this for me of all these three fights, this is the biggest one And if there's one that I need to win, it's this one This is the one that sets up how I get to finish my career. There's a lot of steak after this fight. So The pressure is still there and I got a lot to prove to him, too I mean bare knuckles a different beast, you know Andre in his fights. He he landed some kicks. He landed some takedowns He can't do any of that. He literally has to deal with the two most dangerous weapons on this planet right now and I'm gonna show you what I mean Then this is my cute and cuddly face and I'm making it because it's my job. I got a follow-up There's nothing you can tell us about what you were alluding to before and people getting fired and seems like it was a big deal Just give me that chance if you can Yeah real quick in that so we fought in San Antonio and I'm I'm a I'm a big advocate of doing my medicals Months ahead of time like a lot of fighters want to wait to the week of the fight. That's ludicrous to me Why do you want to deal with this kind of stuff last second? You have to do it The Commission's gonna make you do it get it done as fast as you can The if it's a 30-day thing that I want it done on day 30 Like if it's blood work or something and if it's anything I can do sooner than that like an MRI anything like that Do it. I'll do it three months ahead of time if I can So I did my thing months ahead of time from this event and the medical girl said yeah, you're good And I go are you sure in emails in writing? Yeah, you're good You know like like kind of dismissing me like she don't want to deal with it. She's so busy blah blah blah Okay Fly in I thought everything's done. I'm told I'm licensed and We get there Tuesday, I'm there Wednesday Wednesday late at night. I get told hey you in on Friday, but you have to you're not done with your medicals You're not licensed. You have to go Thursday Thursday immediately to the one of the dirtiest hospitals in the country in San Antonio You can look at which hospital it is to do not just an MRI They're gonna glue Sensors all over my head. This is like a three and a half hour ordeal Way ends the next day. Hey, I'm like Cool, and I bitch I'm mad as hell. I'm so mad. I'm like cool. So I get to this hospital I ---- you not There's a dead body laying in a zipped up bag in the entranceway when we get there Like like is in the hallway a little bit But I've never seen anything like that in my life and I like we walk and I got some people that came with us we're just like oh my god, like what the **** is that like We get in there's people ******* coughing and hacking sickness everywhere in this ******* hospital, it's terrible long story short By by rafter, you know like into Friday My lungs are on fire and I'm sick like I end up Kenny with some sort of lung infection After the fight I get sent to hospitals They do cats can all sorts of ---- on me. It ends up some sort of virus there's nothing they can do and I had to ******* suffer for a couple weeks after the fight, but It most definitely affected me in the fight. And like I said, I'm not one to make excuses. It is what it is I fought my I still fought three rounds I wasn't gonna quit but I certainly didn't give them my best and that that too pisses me off I just want to show them my best just once here Well, I think just half of your story would have affected a normal person let alone catching something Well, they got fired so I knew it wasn't yeah like people got fired people lost their jobs over it I wasn't the only one they got fucked up from that I don't know anybody else got sick, but they screwed over a couple other guys too and you know, probably lost a pretty good job Wow You brought up before The the magnitude of knuckle mania George has been to a bare-knuckle in person and if you ever watch them They're very fast-paced and there's not like any boring fights like all of them are just Non-stop and to the point where when you're at home and you're watching I can't imagine what it's like being there You haven't see it live if you haven't seen it live It is the most exciting combat sport on the planet and I asked this question to people at the live audience and they all agree Once you see it live you understand it's just so much different than seeing it on TV and on TV It's pretty exciting. But like you said the pacing and everything that goes into it But when you hear that smack and you see it and you feel it you feel it Oh it get that it makes the crowd do that You know However, big the crowd is 17,000 people are like oh and then they get excited and then that energy just feeds right into the fighters It's a fan friendly. It's deep Fan friendliest combat sport on the planet. Well all that being said Can that be a little overwhelming for some of the other fighters that have never taken part in a knuckle mania even bigger venue? Now and your opponent Andre are lost. I know he's a veteran. I know he's seen a lot both of you guys have fought Multiple major organizations, but it's a different breed. Do you think even that kind of comes into play sometimes for fighters? I Performed very well in bare knuckle essentially Like I said, it was every bit as big as the biggest I don't in fact I think it might have been the biggest crowd. I've thought I know the UFC's had some big ones. I just personally have I Thought and when I fought Josh Barnett, that was pretty good, but I don't even think that was 17,000 It was like 16,000 people in New Jersey My father Wolverine was a relatively small crowd New Orleans was pretty good. But again there, you know 15,000 still nothing to you know Scuff at it's it's it's still an awesome crowd But that the knuckle meaning was everything they I felt in a major event You know like all the the media this everything that goes into it the lights the crowd You know the weigh-ins was big for this one So it's everything like it definitely would get you ready for that. And if you're new to it, it does affect guys I try telling myself not doesn't I just show up I fight It's not a street fight street fighting is the easiest thing to do in the world. You just react right when it happens It's so easy. They don't you know, every street fighter But when you come into prize-fighting Everything changes you got to see your opponent, you know, you're gonna fight an X amount of days you have to do with interviews and the weight cutting and showing up to this and moving to that and all these things that take you out of your normal routine like It just is completely different and then right after wins in 24 hours or whatever to 30 hours. It could be Your body and mind go. Oh **** me and we're gonna go to war like our life is gonna be put on the line This person is gonna try to severely hurt us and your body gets into like a fight-or-flight type of mode It's all everyone deals with it differently Ignorance is bliss. That is one thing that I could tell in the MMA like from the beginning of my career Ignorance is bliss because in the beginning I just got in and fought like a maniac Every time like I just got in there. I'm gonna **** kill somebody. No problem And then I eventually fought guys as tough as me and getting pushed five You know getting pushed into decisions and things like that. Also, you're like, well, this is this is hard You know, this is a lot harder than you would think So then when you the more you do it the more you realize there's what goes into it Then when you do get to the big fights and you're fighting people as tough as you yeah, everything changes then you're then you're like Think about things, you know what I mean? You're like, oh, what if this happens? What if that happens and all the things and it's just been a while 25 years The UFC did that to me the most giving me the anxiety making me nervous thinking of all the different things the Kicks the takedowns of this the submissions all the things that could happen you think about all of it. I'm very awful, man I got the wipe the slate clean. I'm just like I'm gonna go in there and ******* smash somebody and Well, as you can see I've been performing pretty well Yeah, you know, um, I can't believe I'm about to say this but Jake Paul is gonna box Anthony Joshua That to me is crazy I look at somebody like Francis and Ghanu he's got one fight left with the PFL Nobody's too sure what's gonna happen there, but then he needs to find a new home Would it be crazy to say Francis and Ghanu come to be KFC? And would it be crazy to say fight them off on your first fight? Yeah, I asked him I've been throwing his name around. I mean just cuz know that no gun Francis is just like Andre and Nick Terrell and the other like great guy like, you know, what a story he's got especially It's just we're competitors. We like to compete but Francis is kind of moved himself into he's not fighting for What me and Andre are fighting for you know what I mean? Like he got a taste of 20 million money You know what? I mean like I don't even know like after his sponsorships and everything like Francis probably could have just happily lived the rest of his life right after the Tyson Fury fight and then he followed it up With another chunk of money from Joshua, so I don't know that kind of Stuff is happening right now except for the big tournament That's gonna happen and even then that you know, you have to win multiple fights to win the grand prize so I think it would have to be like a collaboration Some other entities would have to be involved. I think to make it make sense for Francis. I mean, I'd love to fight him Hey, like I said Whatever he wants I'm the main boxing whatever but I think if I ever got to fight Francis would probably be under like a Boxing like with the BKFC's blessing and the BKFC co-promoting maybe do like some sort of boxing match Otherwise, I just don't think Francis is interested I mean, he's kind of like that point in his life or like he wants to fight John Jones I don't think has any to do with money. Then you want to fight him at the White House is like a respect Bucket list thing for him. I think that's where it's at I think Francis has to have something really special to make him on a fight. Well, I'm glad you brought up the tournament That's my final thing We've been hearing about this for a while at the same time as we've been interviewing you over the years You've often talked to us about how you're getting close to retirement So do you wait out that tournament because that sounds like more fights still? Whereas again in the last few years you've talked about hey, this one could be it Where do you sit with with that? Mr. Felden did bring up the tournament again at this last press conference and I started asking them some things and it really came down To me. We're like, I don't want to jump ahead February 7th I have a large challenge in front of me and Andre Lasky at 265 pound Andre Lasky. It's the biggest he's ever been so Serious fight, you know, I mean some people think that I don't have a chance and some people think I'm gonna walk through them So it's pretty interesting too. I think a lot of people are gonna tune in he brings a good fan base to it I got a deal with February 7th, obviously Just as I have you know what I mean? I'm in this to win I know what I want to do and how's the rest of the year ago if I get put on another year layoff after winning That's gonna be really really hard on me to continue at my age the tournament was supposed to start around April and May and the deal tournament is it's like Five fights to win and they want it done in one year. That means you're fighting about every couple months Well, I could that that I could get behind like that's that's just like get done and right back into a training camp This doesn't take what it did in MMA MMA was so brutal the training camp for way harder than the fights They were so hard and then he was just really tough on the body and this This is like you might get caught up in the fight even and take some shots About six weeks just give you six if if if if you don't have you know, my last fight I threw one punch in one so nothing nothing is easy I could have fought the next weekend if you have a fight that goes bad You need about six weeks and then you can get into another training camp about after that about eight weeks So three months is ample and that's if you had a tough fight, but as long as you keep winning your fights really easy This is something you can fight every couple months in so the tournament happens I'm in it to win it then I think I could put away five more fights in a one-year time Then you'd know my retirement date for sure until I win the tournament and then somebody's like, all right Ben 40 million Be ------- amazing for my family and be holy right. What's the prize again 10 million? It's it's 25 million for the tournament and the winner is supposed to get 15 million. Also 15 million open way Yeah, that's that's a good way to walk away Open way, right? Uh 185 to have you a have you a like a 275 on it? Mm-hmm For that lastly, I saw some pro-wrestler got signed Salmani I Don't even know if I can pronounce this first thing. Yeah, I don't know like no disrespect. Yeah I hope he brings more eyes and I hope it's good. I don't I don't know much about all of that. Mm-hmm Twisting your lower back right now. What would you do? Listen gorgeous That is cool, yeah, yeah, this is the new merchandise The KFC comm we'll check it all buy some stuff I'm a company man. Pretty obvious San Antonio story was really interesting Did you say it was covered or was the dead body like we could still see the head like like a Morgan? Yeah, it was zipped. It was zips, you know They were like getting to it. I guess I've just never seen anything like that in my life Was the hospital in a bad area? That's what you meant by dirty or it's all we looked up after the fact it was like That's just how San Antonio is all three of the hospitals are the lowest rate some of the lowest rate is hospitals in the country and the one that I Particularly when we looked it up and it was rated one of the worst hot, you know, like dirtiest dirty, like I just like Not like the hospitals here We're like really like you'd want to eat off the floor here like they look weird No, you would not do that at the hospital and it was like a big hospital like in the you know in San Antonio like It didn't look ghetto. It just Just dirty. It's not good. It's not well-kept. I have one question. How come you don't do any TV or movies. I think you'd be awesome. I need a I need my management This is very fight related. I think I need I need a man. I need somebody to like There's a little that movie coming out and a street. Yeah, I'd love to Awesome perfect for that. I think I'm gonna end up on Danny go Yeah, I'm gonna be on Danny go and be one of like the villains My kids were just watching right now. So I make a joke like it's pretty routine I'm like, well, I do about a half hour Danny go every day. I think you could do good in them Taylor Sheridan shows like you can do anything. Yeah, I was just thinking that Bouncer roles just utilizing your size bad guy roles, you know Yeah, I like to be I like to be bad guy villain. That's fun for me. Do you watch Tulsa King? No, I honestly I don't get to watch much TV like Danny go just you know, my kids like that's that's about the extent of my TV Tulsa King Sylvester Stallone has a big driver and I find you more charming than that guy. So I think you could pull that off He's kind of like his protector but also his driver. Yeah that I told David Feldman. He keeps getting bigger He's gonna need you know, he's gonna need his bodyguard that walks around Dana White's got one. So David Feldman, yeah Those things can get rowdy man all your press conferences at BK of C Yeah Remember AJ kind of filled that role the late Anthony Johnson. Mm-hmm. He was kind of there. I think to make sure to Calm things down and you know, I know he had a friendship with Feldman, but It would be nice to keep you around when it's all over. What's not over yet, February 7th Let's focus on that knuckle mania 6. Thanks for the time as always big man Yeah, let's talk after hey this time. Let's actually have a party If I got two belts to bring me to have a MMA junkie nation party this March this March this March