After winning the BKFC heavyweight championship way back in January, Ben Rothwell was put on ice for the rest of 2025 much to his chagrin. That wasn’t necessarily by design. Things just turned out that way.
But now he’s happy with how BKFC made it up to him.
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“Boy, did they drop a surprise on me,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m not just the main event; I’m the main event of the biggest BKFC event in the company’s history.”
Rothwell is set to headline KnuckleMania 6 on Feb. 7 when he puts his title on the line against Andrei Arlovski in what will be a trilogy fight between the two former UFC heavyweights. The event takes place at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, site of Rothwell’s title-winning knockout of Mick Terrill at KnuckleMania 5.
“The Philadelphia crowd is probably the most exciting crowd I’ve ever got to fight in front of,” Rothwell said. “For me, it was such a high moment not just to win the title, but to win the title in front of that fan base. I must’ve made an impact because now I get the main event on the biggest event in the incredible fight town of Philadelphia. I’m pretty excited.”
The fight will be an opportunity for Rothwell (4-0) to get some revenge on Arlovski (1-0), who has two MMA wins over Rothwell to his credit. Arlovski first beat Rothwell by first-round knockout way back July 19, 2008 under the now-defunct Affliction banner. Eleven years later at UFC on ESPN 4, Arlovski won a unanimous decision.
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Looking back on his history with Arlovski, Rothwell said there’s “one big thing” that he takes away from those two fights – that he was too hesitant. He said he was blinded by the big lights of that Affliction event at a sold-out Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and when they met the second time he faced “another set of circumstances” in the form of an illness that caused him to hesitate until it was too late in Round 3.
Understanding what’s on the line in their trilogy, Rothwell is intent on not repeating history.
“Doesn’t matter, he’s got two wins against me. With all that said and done, he got those on me,” Rothwell said. “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 at stake after this fight, so the pressure’s still there. I’ve got a lot to prove to him, too.
“Bareknuckle is a different beast. Andrei in those (MMA) fights, 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 the planet right now [shows his fists], and I’m gonna show you what I mean.”
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Arlovski, 46, will enter after going 3-0 in three fights in 2025 – competing in Dirty Boxing Championship, BKFC, and traditional boxing under the Misfits banner. Perhaps that could be viewed as an advantage compared to Rothwell, who will not have competed in more than a year, but he’s not worried about it.
“Yeah, I didn’t fight for the year, which is a bummer,” Rothwell said. “My opponent went and got three fights knocked out of the way, so Andrei is sharp and ready. He’s coming for me. … But I’ve just been in this nonstop training camp and just really trying to make sure I put in my rest periods so I don’t get burnt out. I could fight right now. Let’s just be serious.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: KnuckleMania 6: Ben Rothwell can’t wait for Andrei Arlovski trilogy
