Ben Rothwell

Ben Rothwell vs Chris Barnett set for May 22nd UFC

Ben Rothwell vs Chris Barnett takes place in the Octagon before month’s end.

Fight Bananas were the first to report the news of this heavyweight prizefight. MMA Fighting confirmed this bout arrangement with sources close to the matchup who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

This May 22nd UFC show emanates from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rob Font vs Cody Garbrandt is the headliner for UFC Fight Night 188.

Rothwell had multiple attempted fight bookings with Philipe Lins fall by the wayside. He was also targeted for a bout with Askar Mozharov until visa issues lead to the pivot towards Chris Barnett.

Ben Rothwell vs Chris Barnett

Ben Rothwell is a combat veteran of over 50 professional mixed martial arts contests. Rothwell has specifically been with the UFC for over a decade.

Rothwell recently had a two-fight win streak snapped when he lost to Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision and is looking to return to the win column from that October defeat.

He holds significant career victories over Krzysztof Soszynski, Roy Nelson, Dan Bobish, Ricco Rodriguez, Brandon Vera, Alistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett to name a few.

While Barnett is a UFC neophyte, he is a twelve-year veteran of the sport. Beast Boy has fought under the banners of Island Fights, Inoki Genome Federation, Rizin Fighting Federation, Road FC, and UAE Warriors to name a few.

Chris Barnett is on a six-fight win streak and had some recent bout cancellations in his own right.

A contest with Antonio Bigfoot Silva fell off in December via event cancellation. Also, Barnett withdrew from a January contest against Jack May for XMMA. Plans were in place to fight Brett Martin on May 28th at XFC 44 but Barnett’s signing with UFC dissolved that prizefight.

Barnett is closing in on 30 pro MMA fights overall. Chris Barnett holds notable wins against Walt Harris, Travis Wiuff, and Alexandru Lungu.

Who do you think gets their hand raised when Ben Rothwell vs Chris Barnett goes down?

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Dylan Bowker
I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.