“I was on a four-fight win streak and I took on a guy off a loss. It was a stupid fight for me, strategically. There some regret and there’s not. I think more, not regret, but a learning lesson. I think right after the fights, I need to be locked up and somebody else needs to take my phone and take my wallet, because I get crazy after a fight. It’s when I do crazy interviews, it’s when I’m off the wall, and I think I get high off the wins. I don’t know what it is, but it’s obvious I’m not thinking rationally at the time. It was good for the UFC because they got to fill a main event. It was just a strategically stupid fight… I learned a lot in this five-round fight. I might have taken a loss on my record, but I’m far from defeated. In fact, I’m very much the opposite. I think that fight gave me the fuel and the knowledge that I needed to really take myself to being the best mixed martial artist that I can be, and that’s my new goal. There’s no more about the title. I’m done chasing something I have no control over. I’m back to why I started this sport, and it’s to find out how good I can really be. With each and every fight from here on out, that’s my focus.”
-Ben Rothwell talks about his April loss to Junior dos Santos in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Penick’s Analysis: It was a massive risk for him given the run he was on and the quick turnaround from beating Josh Barnett, and it didn’t pay off. It’s the heavyweight division, so resurgence is always possible, but his road to a title fight is much, much longer than the one he was on just a few short months ago. He didn’t look horrible against dos Santos, but he got completely out-worked, and was largely ineffective himself. That’s not going to cut it if he’s going to find another run in him, but he knows that, and we’ll find out what he can do in response as he tries to move forward.
Attention iPhone/iPad and Android users, if you’ve enjoyed our app in the past and followed us there, or if you’ve never checked it out, make sure to update to the latest version in the Apple store and/or Google Play store. We’ve launched a new look for the app, in line with our recent desktop overhaul. Make sure to check it out!
For current App users, swipe right to view next article, swipe left to view previous article.
Leave a Reply