Ben Rothwell may only be half-Irish but you wouldn’t guess that from the reception that he gets in Dublin.
Barring Gunnar Nelson, ‘Big’ Ben is the most popular non-Irish fighter among Irish fight fans and he’s well aware of it.
Rothwell was scheduled to face Stipe Miocic in the co-main event of UFC Dublin last October but Miocic pulled out with an injury with less than a fortnight until fight night.
But Rothwell still made the trip to the Irish capital to spend time with Irish fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs for anybody who asked.
That gesture wasn’t forgotten by the travelling Irish fans at the Unstoppable press conference at UFC 196 as the Wisconsin heavyweight received one of the biggest ovations of the afternoon before he finished the event by shouting “I love Ireland” into the microphone.
Ben Rothwell wins the press conference with a quick "I love Ireland" at the end.
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 4, 2016
The link between him and Ireland is so strong, in fact, that Rothwell insists that he plans on defending the heavyweight title in Dublin if he wins the belt.
Rothwell faces former champion Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC Zagreb on Sunday evening and it would be difficult to deny him a shot at the gold with a victory in Croatia.
“(The Irish are) some of the greatest fans in the world,” Rothwell said on Thursday’s media day.
“I feel your energy every day. I love it. I’m going to keep giving you a reason to cheer.
“And I do plan on winning the title and I’m going to defend it in Dublin.”
