Ben Rothwell added a third knockout to his bare-knuckle fighting resume but it didn’t happen how he wanted.
The UFC veteran scored an early knockdown at BKFC KnuckleMania 4 but opponent Todd Duffee couldn’t continue after he fell to the canvas a second time and complained about a stinger in his shoulder. A stinger typically means a nerve injury and Duffee told referee Dan Miragliotta he was done so the fight was stopped at 43 seconds into the opening round.
A disappointed Rothwell erupted afterward as he hoped to earn a heavyweight title shot with a win but now he’ll have to wait and see if the promotion will still grant his wish.
“I came here to knock him the f*ck out for all of you,” Rothwell shouted. “He got hit the first time he got knocked down and it was already over then. I can’t control my opponent.
“I came here to perform. I came here to get myself into a title fight. Of course that’s what I want. But I think everybody knows what I’m about and what I was going to do.”
The heavyweights wasted no time trading bombs as soon as the fight got started with Rothwell connecting first as he planted Duffee on the canvas in the initial exchange. Duffee beat the 10 count and actually clipped Rothwell with a shot that bloodied his nose on the restart.
Another exchange saw Rothwell essentially shrug Duffee off during a clinch. That’s when Duffee fell to the ground and immediately waved to the referee that he was done.
Miraglotta then told the ringside attendees that Duffee complained about a stinger in his shoulder that forced the stoppage in the fight.
Regardless of how it happened, Rothwell moves to 3-0 in his BKFC career with another knockout added to his resume with the win over Duffee on Saturday.
