BKFC heavyweight champ Ben Rothwell responds to Mark Hunt’s callout: ‘Let’s f*cking go motherf*cker’

Ben Rothwell is down to throw down with anyone, including legendary UFC knockout artist Mark Hunt.

Rothwell won the BKFC heavyweight title in devastating fashion this past Saturday in the co-main event of BKFC KnuckleMania 5 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. He did so by putting out the lights of Mick Terill just 36 seconds into the first round.

During a post-fight press conference, Rothwell was asked if he’d fight Hunt – who called him out online.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Rothwell said. “You think I’m going to say no? Let’s f*cking go motherf*cker. Let’s knuckle up.”

Rothwell and Hunt have history. The two fought in MMA back in 2011. That night at UFC 135, Hunt defeated Rothwell in a unanimous decision. Over a decade later, the two are now out of the UFC. Rothwell has been active in bareknuckle boxing and is now BKFC champion, and Hunt has fairly remained inactive, with his last fight being a victory in boxing back in 2022.

Rothwell is over the moon about his title win in BKFC. Although a top contender for many years under the UFC banner, “Big” Ben was never able to get his chance to fight for gold.

“That was a huge kick in my nuts,” Rothwell said when asked about him never winning a UFC title. “Everyone around me believed that I was going to win the belt. I was one of the top ranked contenders for some time, I was on a four-fight wining streak, I took a really stupid fight and went overseas and dropped a five-round decision to Junior (Dos Santos), and then my life pretty much went to sh*t after that.

“I had a series of horrible things that took place and, you want to talk about depression and evrything bad, yeah, I had to fight out of a hole. The only reason why I got here is because I do have mental fortitude and I’m glad I got to showcase it.”