Stipe Miocic was forced to withdraw for his upcoming fight against Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin after reportedly suffering an undisclosed injury and now Big Ben could be simply there to be as a mere spectator.
The UFC did try to fight a suitable replacement but efforts to do so have apparently failed. Instead, a new co-main event has been named in lieu of the botched card and it will pit a lightweight bout between Norman Parke and Reza Madadi.
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Seeing that the event was held in Dublin, a timely replacement was seen improbable in the first place. Aside from the time element, the matter of securing a EU Visa was also on the table, forcing the UFC to forego the match and replacing it with the lightweight clash between Parke and Madadi.
Despite being set aside, Rothwell did not hold ill feelings against Miocic.
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"No hard feelings towards Stipe at all. I've been on the other side of the coin. These things happen, and I'd like to hope that everything happens for a reason. Maybe there is a bigger fight for me out there" says Rothwell via MMAFighting.com
Rothwell, current ranked No. 7 in the heavyweight division, was looking for his fourth win over the third-ranked Miocic.
Now Rothwell is looking ahead and is volunteering himself as a possible replacement for an upcoming bout this December 19. This is the match that will see Junior Dos Santos facing Alistair Overeem. Big Ben made it known that he would like to be considered in case Overeem withdraws from the said fight.
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