Longtime UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell is finally set for his UFC return. A source from MMAjunkie confirmed an initial report from Bulgarian site MMA.bg that “Big Ben” will meet former Bellator and WSOF champion Blagoy Ivanov sometime in March.
The source remained anonymous due to the fight not being officially announced or having a date and location.
Rothwell has been out of action for a lengthy amount of time. He was last seen losing a lopsided unanimous decision to Junior dos Santos in the main event of April 2016’s UFC Croatia. The loss snapped an impressive four-fight winning streak for the massive knockout artist. Rothwell was even talked about as a potential title contender at the time.
He then looked to rebound against Fabricio Werdum at September 2016’s UFC 203. But he was then forced out due to an injury. While the fight was rescheduled for UFC 211, it was called when Rothwell failed an out-of-competition USADA drug test. He was flagged for an “anabolic androgenic steroid of exogenous origin.” He was given a two-year suspension for the failed drug test.
He’ll return against Ivanov, who also lost his most recent fight to dos Santos at UFC Boise this July. Like Rothwell, the loss snapped an impressive win streak for Ivanov. He had won his previous five bouts, including a run as WSOF heavyweight champion.
We’ll update you on the bout’s official announcement and location when it arrives.
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