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Former UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell has passed his first test in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) with flying colors. The 40-year-old heavyweight demolished his opponent Bobo O’ Bannon just 19 seconds into round one of BKFC 30 in Monroe, Louisiana.
Just as the fight started, Rothwell closed the distance and started engaging with O' Bannon. As both men stood their ground and exchanged punches on the ropes, a vicious uppercut from Rothwell sent his fellow American crashing to the canvas.
Watch the clip below:
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The result won't be too surprising for fans of Rothwell as the American has always been known for his power. The 40-year-old has finished 28 fights via knockout in his professional mixed martial arts career.
The former UFC athlete holds a pro-MMA record of 39 wins against 14 losses. He also holds a UFC record of nine wins and eight losses. The heavyweight has wins against MMA veterans like Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, and Ovince St. Preux.
Rothwell signed with the BKFC in April after parting ways with the UFC earlier this March.
His last fight in the Dana White run promotion ended in a 32-second KO loss. This makes the convincing win on his BKFC 30 debut a much-needed confidence booster for the aging heavyweight.
When Ben Rothwell said BKFC was his last chance to show the world what he is really about
In a recent interview with MMA Fightingon before his BKFC 30 fight, former UFC athlete Ben Rothwell said that he sees BKFC as his final chance to showcase all his skills.
The 40-year-old added that even though he had a good run in the UFC, he could never display all the skills he had in his arsenal. The 40-year-old stated that he was going to blow the fans away with his performances at BKFC:
"Back when I started as a young high school[er], there was a fire I had, just like something I had to prove... I believe I'm one of the best fighters in the world... In MMA... at one point I was forced into UFC and like I was getting there, I was proving out to be one of the best in the world. But I still to this day didn't really show all my stuff you know... and this is like my last chance to get it right, to really show the world... There is some stuff the world needs to see... I'm going to blow them away."
Watch Ben Rothwell's full interview below:
