Ben Rothwell will not make his bare-knuckle boxing return on Saturday.
Rothwell’s scheduled co-headlining bout against fellow UFC veteran Todd Duffee at BKFC 56 has been cancelled after Rothwell fell ill Thursday morning, BKFC president David Feldman announced at the event’s pre-fight press conference.
“I do have an unfortunate announcement to make that our co-main event, Ben Rothwell actually came down really, really sick this morning,” Feldman said. “He’s not going to be able to compete. We tried to get a last-minute replacement for Todd Duffee and we just couldn’t line it up, so we’re going to push that fight to February, so I’m sorry to the fans for that one.”
BKFC 56 takes place Dec. 2 at the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City.
With Rothwell vs. Duffee scratched, the event will proceed forward as a seven-fight main card. A women’s flyweight title rematch between BKFC champ Christine Ferea and Bec Rawlings has been elevated to the show’s new co-headlining attraction.
Rothwell (37-14 MMA) is a perfect 2-0 in the bare-knuckle boxing ring, scoring stoppage wins over Josh Copeland and Bobo O’Bannon since his Oct. 2022 debut.
Duffee (9-4 MMA) was set to make his bare-knuckle boxing debut.
“I think it’s sad that Ben’s stuck in 2020 and thought this was a stay-at-home job,” Duffee said following the announcement of the news. “It’s terrible.”