Ben Rothwell is expressing an interest in fighting Francis Ngannou under the PFL banner.
Rothwell (39-14 MMA) parted ways with with UFC in 2022 after 13 years with the promotion. The 42 year old subsequently signed with the BKFC where he holds a record of 2-0.
Ngannou (17-3 MMA) also parted ways with the UFC earlier this year after being unable to come to contract terms. The 37 year old went on to sign with the Professional Fighters League.
While both fighters competed at heavyweight in the UFC, their paths never crossed.
The long-time MMA veteran, Rothwell, is now letting it be known he’d like to fight Francis Ngannou in the cage.
Rothwell, speaking with ‘MMA Junkie Radio‘ shared his thoughts on a fight with Ngannou:
“If I got offered to fight Francis Ngannou, we would have a serious sit down with everybody involved because that’s the kind of fight that I think anybody, any of the guys in my position would want to take. I can’t speak for them, but I 100 percent would take that fight, yes. Indeed. It’s one of those fights that’s a legacy fight.”
Continuing Rothwell spoke about Ngannou’s recent boxing match saying:
“Francis did so good in his boxing match that I think that got really pulled away at this time. They’re talking about trying to match him up with other boxers to do MMA and stuff like that. He’s going to get pulled away to a totally different direction in that world. They’re already talking about him and Tyson Fury having a rematch, so it sounds like he’s got his hands full, but something like that would be fun to come back to, but outside that I’m having a lot of fun with BKFC and I got plenty to do here.”
Ngannou did enter the boxing world this past October, going the distance with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, but ultimately losing by a hotly debated split decision.
Would you like to see an MMA match-up between Ben Rothwell and Francis Ngannou under the PFL banner?
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