Ben Rothwell confident vs. Francis Ngannou in MMA, boxing or bareknuckle: 'I feel like I could finish it'

With or without boxing gloves, BKFC heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell is willing to test his hands against the best around, including Francis Ngannou.

Rothwell, a 17-fight UFC veteran, took the bareknuckle boxing heavyweight crown at BKFC KnuckleMania 5 by stopping Mick Terrill in just 36 seconds. It was just his fourth appearance in the promotion, and three of those fights didn't make it out of the first minute – although he's stopped every opponent thus far.

It seems Rothwell is made for bareknuckle boxing.

He has the look, he has the skills, and is quickly becoming the face of BKFC. However, since he's been ripping through his competition in the promotion, perhaps it's time to share the cage with some more familiar names.

"Two big ones right now that seem like realistically could happen is Mark Hunt and Francis Ngannou," Rothwell told MMA Junkie Radio. "But Mark Hunt is kind of saying he doesn't want to fight until later in the fall, so kind of puts a wrench in my timeline.

"But at least it's a big fight. It's a name, but he has some things against him. He's a bit older, he's got fans still – I think he's a bigger name than a lot of who's on the BKFC heavyweight roster right now. I think he's at least a bigger name than that and is going to bring some eyeballs to be a big fight, but I think Francis is still very hot. He had a couple of losses in boxing, but the PFL rebounded him in MMA."

After leaving his heavyweight title vacant to exit the UFC for a boxing-friendly deal with the PFL, Ngannou laced up the gloves and stepped through the ropes to face two of the biggest names in heavyweight boxing: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Although he came up short against both, Ngannou then returned to MMA, where he defeated Renan Ferreira by TKO in the first round.

Rothwell believes that if he were to get Ngannou in the ring for gloved or bareknuckle boxing – or even in the cage for an MMA fight, things would not go well for the former UFC champion.

"I would like bareknuckle or boxing, because MMA, they're going to push for 265," Rothwell said. "It's like, alright, if I'm going to be compensated with the kind of numbers that they're talking, I'll do it – but I would prefer to show everyone what kind of boxing and bareknuckle, the difference between the two.

"See, when Francis gets threatened on the feet, he goes to MMA. He'll go for takedowns. I would give him a lot more trouble on the feet than people would know. I feel like I could finsh it for sure, and he wouldn't have any MMA to resort to. It would just make it to my advantage."

Rothwell exited the UFC in November 2021 after a standing TKO loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima. As a UFC fighter, Rothwell built a 9-8 record, just barely staying above .500. Now he looks like a different animal in bareknuckle boxing, which has his confidence at an all-time high. Rothwell believes he could take care of Ngannou in MMA, too.

"Now, if we did bring back MMA, I think I would surprise him," Rothwell said. "If he does go for a takedown, that could also be very bad for him, because there's some skills that I have that I haven't lost. The guys that he did take down, didn't have sh*t on the ground, so I will dominate there as well. Honestly, I guess I don't care. Now that I'm saying it out loud, I feel like I dominate in several positions."

Related

Overreaction Time: Conor McGregor vs. Dana White, BKFC on the rise, GFL draft farce, more!

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

BKFC KnuckleMania 5 video: Jeremy Stephens batters Eddie Alvarez, squares off with Conor McGregor

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ben Rothwell confident vs. Francis Ngannou in MMA, boxing or bareknuckle: 'I feel like I could finish it'