Ben Rothwell has been surprisingly released from the UFC after the veteran heavyweight was originally set to face Alexander Gustafsson in May.
UFC officials confirmed the release on Thursday at MMA Fighting. MMA Fighting has reached out to both Rothwell and his management team for comment, but neither has responded at this time.
With a nearly 13-year UFC career, Rothwell has been a mainstay in the heavyweight division since arriving in 2009. The IFL and Affliction veteran was always considered incredibly tough, while notching high-profile victories over Gilbert Yvel and Brendan Schaub early in his UFC career.
Rothwell’s most impressive run came between 2013 and 2016, when he won four straight fights, including victories over Alistair Overeem and Matt Mitrione, while becoming the first and only one ever to subdue ex-UFC champion Josh Barnett.
In recent years, Rothwell has bounced back and forth between wins and losses, averaging a 3-2 record in his last five fights. In his final appearance in the octagon, Rothwell suffered a TKO loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima that took his UFC aggregate record to 9-8, which looks set to end his tenure with promotion.
As of now, there’s no word on what exactly led to Rothwell’s release or who will replace him in the May 21 fight against Gustafsson.
Gustafsson was set to make his second heavyweight appearance after losing to one-time champion Fabricio Werdum in July 2020.
MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.