Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Rothwell began his training in September 1999, before joining Miletich Fighting Systems in 2002.
Rothwell made his professional debut in early 2001 in his home state of Wisconsin and dominated his opponent, winning by TKO only 21 seconds into the fight. He then won his next three fights, all under two minutes into the first round and all with strikes. Rothwell then faced future two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion and fellow Miletich Fighting Systems fighter, Tim Sylvia. Rothwell was handed his first career loss in a decision. However, he bounced back and won his next seven fights, all by submission or TKO, before a unanimous decision loss to Mike Whitehead.
After defeating former King of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion, Dan Bobish by knockout, Rothwell was soon invited to compete in the International Fight League to fight for the Quad City Silverbacks, coached by the legendary Pat Miletich. Like several other fighters in the promotion, Rothwell was competing for the coach who he trained regularly.
International Fight League
On April 29, 2006, Rothwell made his IFL debut against future UFC veteran, the Polish-Canadian fighter, Krzysztof Soszynski. In the first round, Soszynski surprisingly decided to exchange strikes with Rothwell, and landed a left uppercut and held his own until he was knocked down by a short left hook from Rothwell, who then slammed Soszynski to the canvas. After working from side control and then standing again, Rothwell landed a series of punches at the end of the round, that knocked down Soszynski, and then followed this up with more punches to his downed opponent. Despite the round ending, referee Dan Miragliotta called a stop to the contest, granting Rothwell the win via TKO.
After racking up four consecutive IFL wins, he fought future The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights winner and IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson, winning via split decision.
His next fight was a rematch from almost five years earlier against veteran Travis Fulton, owner of 195 career victories. Three minutes into the second round, Rothwell secured a kimura, causing Fulton to submit.
Rothwell then met Krzysztof Soszynski in a rematch of his IFL debut. Rothwell once again won via TKO, only 13 seconds into the bout.
His last fight in the IFL came against former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Ricco Rodriguez in the team finals. After controlling the fight and displaying superior striking, Rothwell won the fight via unanimous decision. However, the Silverbacks fell short of a victory and lost the championship to Renzo Gracie's New York Pitbulls. This was Rothwell's last appearance in the IFL, as he eventually left the organization due to a contract dispute.
During his time in the IFL, Rothwell had a 9–0 record.[5]
Affliction
After leaving the IFL, Rothwell joined Affliction where he appeared in only one bout, against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, Rothwell lost the fight via knockout due to an uppercut in the final round. This ended Rothwell's 13-fight win streak and gave him his first defeat in over three years.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Rothwell made his UFC debut on October 24, 2009, at UFC 104 against undefeated Cain Velasquez losing via TKO one minute into round two. The stoppage was controversial because Rothwell seemed to be getting to his feet as Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight. Rothwell was visibly upset with Mazzagatti's decision to stop the fight.[6] After the fight, UFC president Dana White stated that Mazzagatti was the "worst referee in the history of combat sports".
Rothwell was expected to face Mirko Filipović on February 21, 2010, at UFC 110.[7] However, Rothwell had to withdraw from the event, just days prior, due to an illness and was replaced by Anthony Perosh.[8]
Rothwell then fought Gilbert Yvel on June 15, 2010, at UFC 115 where he won by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, and 29–28).[9] Rothwell tore his ACL during his first takedown attempt, which required post-fight surgery.[10] Rothwell also suffered a deviated septum from a head kick during the first round.[11]
After an extended layoff, Rothwell fought Mark Hunt on September 24, 2011, at UFC 135.[12] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Rothwell then faced Brendan Schaub on April 21, 2012, at UFC 145. He won the fight via knockout in round one. Rothwell also earned Knockout of the Night honors for his performance.[13]
Rothwell was expected to face Travis Browne at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera, but pulled out due to an injury[14]
Rothwell faced Gabriel Gonzaga on January 19, 2013, at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping[15] He lost the fight via submission in the second round.
Rothwell faced Brandon Vera at UFC 164 on August 31, 2013.[16] He won the fight via TKO by punches in round three. Subsequent to the bout, Rothwell tested positive for elevated testosterone levels. The UFC suspended Rothwell for nine months, despite the Wisconsin commission only issuing him with an administrative warning.[17]
Rothwell was briefly linked to a bout with Ruslan Magomedov for on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177.[18] However, on July 9, the UFC announced he would face Alistair Overeem on September 5, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 50.[19] Rothwell won the fight via TKO in the first round.[20] The win also earned Rothwell his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[21]
Rothwell faced Matt Mitrione on June 6, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 68.[22] He won the fight via submission in the first round, the first submission win of his UFC career.[23]
Rothwell was expected to face Stipe Miocic on October 24, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 76.[24] However, Miocic pulled out of the fight on October 13 citing injury.[25] Subsequently, Rothwell was removed from the card the following day after the promotion deemed that a suitable opponent could not be arranged on short notice.[26]
Rothwell next faced Josh Barnett on January 30, 2016, at UFC on Fox 18.[27] He won the fight in the second round due to a guillotine choke, making Rothwell the only fighter to ever stop Barnett with a submission hold during Barnett's lengthy MMA career.[28] The win also earned Rothwell his second Performance of the Night bonus award.[29]
Rothwell faced Junior dos Santos on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86.[30] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[31]
Rothwell was expected to face Fabrício Werdum on September 10, 2016, at UFC 203.[32] However, Rothwell pulled out of the fight on August 11 citing a knee injury and was replaced by Travis Browne.[33][34]
The bout with Werdum was rescheduled and expected to take place on May 13, 2017, at UFC 211.[35] However, the bout was canceled due to Rothwell failing a drug test. On April 6, 2018, it was announced Rothwell had accepted a two-year suspension from USADA, retroactive to February 6, 2017.[36]
Having served his suspension, Rothwell returned to face Blagoy Ivanov on March 9, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 146.[37] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[38]
A rematch with Andrei Arlovski took place on July 20, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 4.[39] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[40]
Rothwell faced Stefan Struve on December 7, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 7.[41] He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[42] The finish was controversial as Rothwell had accidentally hit Struve in the groin twice and was docked one point for these infractions in the second round. The referee encouraged the compromised Struve to continue, resulting in a finish for Rothwell late in the second round.[43]
Rothwell was scheduled to face Gian Villante on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249.[44] However, the event and Rothwell's scheduled bout against Villante was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[45]
Rothwell faced Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira on May 13, 2020.[46] He won the fight via split decision.[47]
Rothwell faced Marcin Tybura on October 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179.[48] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[49]
Rothwell was scheduled to face Philipe Lins on March 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 187.[50] However, during the week leading up to the event the bout was removed from the card due to undisclosed reasons. The pairing remained intact and [51] the bout was rescheduled on May 8, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 24.[52] While Rothwell made weight without issue, Lins never showed up to the weigh-ins and withdrew from the bout due to an illness.[53] The bout was rescheduled again for May 22, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt.[54] However, yet again, Lins was pulled from the event for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by newcomer Askhar Mozharov.[55] Just hours later, the Ukrainian announced he would not be able to get a visa in time for the event,[56] and he was replaced by Chris Barnett.[57] He won the fight via guillotine choke submission in the second round.[58]
Rothwell faced Marcos Rogério de Lima on November 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 197.[59] After Rothwell was stunned multiple times on the feet, referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight, though he allowed Rothwell to attempt a takedown before officially calling off the fight as a TKO win for Lima.[60]
Rothwell was scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson on May 21, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 206.[61] However, at the end of March, it was announced that Rothwell asked for his release and it was granted from the UFC.[62]
