Ben Rothwell blasts Steve Mazzagatti's stoppage

[SamboMontreal]

Unsuccessful in his UFC debut against top contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 104, IFL veteran 'Big' Ben Rothwell made it clear that he felt stoppage made by referee Steve Mazzagatti was unjustified as he was in the midst of transitioning to better his position.

"So what he was punching me, big deal, isn’t that what happens in a fight? The reality of the situation is that I was using the cage to get to my feet and which I basically did and then for some reason Steve [Mazzagatti] decides to step in. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I mean if the punches had some force behind them I could understand it but those were like soft jabs that didn’t hurt at all, it was like he was just hitting me to stay busy rather than damage me. That's is why I wasn't covering up – the punches didn’t hurt and definitely weren't doing any damage, at least not enough to slow me down, but then he [Steve Mazzagatti] calls the fight? Please, my grandmother hits harder that that. Maybe it looked bad to those at home and to those who have never trained but I had worked back into standing position and was ready to fire back some of my own, so how bad could the punches have really been? Come on, if you would have seen me the next day you’d have hardly thought I was in a fight - I woke up the next day with barely a scratch on my face. Look at some fights I have had in my career, I’ve been in plenty of worse positions and managed to turn the fight around and win.

You know Shogun wasn't the only one robbed that night. So what If I lost the first round by a small margin, all that meant is there were still two rounds up for grabs, my shoulders were just loosening up at the beginning of the second round - the real fight was just getting started. Look, I don't want to make this sound like I'm taking anything away from Cain, he's a great fighter, probably one of the best in the heavy weight division at the moment. I just feel like I've been working my entire career to get this shot in the UFC, only to have it taken away from me by an incompetent referee. Losing is one thing but to have such a big opportunity taken from you? I'm disgusted."

Rothwell explained that using the fence to work to and retain a dominant position was something he had worked diligently on weeks before the fight.

"That's what my wrestling coach [Peter Senerchia] and I had worked on before the fight. Each time he took me down I made my way to the fence and got back to me feet like we planned. I had so many different tools in my arsenal that could have led to a victory but I feel like I didn’t really get a chance to show them, that the fans didn’t get a chance to see what Ben Rothwell is all about. I’d have loved to have knocked Cain out and I really feel like I could have, but we all know what happened there. The worst part is I figured out early that Cain is a decent wrestler and was taking me down a lot quicker than I anticipated so I basically told myself the next time Cain takes me down I’m going to forget about the knock out and submit him. I have great jujitsu and great submissions but people don’t realize this because I don’t call on these skills too often because my hands are so devastating. Anyway, sure enough Cain managed to take me down and pressed me up against the cage. I had a standing arm lock (kimura) basically given to me on a silver platter that I was setting up and Mazzagatti went and stole it from me. It was like he stole Thanksgiving day dinner from me right from underneath my nose. I’m still feeling really pissed off about this fight and I really feel like Cain didn’t beat me, poor officiating did.”

Rothwell also had a final message for his fans, ensuring that he will deliver a better performance next time out

“If you feel as ripped off as I do, let me apologize, but I also want all you people to know that next time I step in the cage no ref is going to steal anything from me and tell me what fight I didn't win, I’m gonna take matters into my own hands and put some people to sleep, bank on it”

Source

[Unreason]

He really didn't seem hurt at all, that stoppage was questionable at best.

[zombiejitsu]

This dude is fucking delusional. Sure it was a bad stoppage but if he had any thought he was gonna turn that around and win, clearly Cain's punches were harder than he thinks.

Ben Rothwell: Don't believe the (self) hype.

[DeathByBeer]

Yes, it was an odd moment to stop the fight.

No, Ben hadnt landed a single strike yet in that fight.

It made zero difference to the eventual outcome.

[Roguejde]

Originally Posted by zombiejitsu

This dude is fucking delusional. Sure it was a bad stoppage but if he had any thought he was gonna turn that around and win, clearly Cain's punches were harder than he thinks.

Ben Rothwell: Don't believe the (self) hype.

Clearly huh? What are you doing wasting your time on Sherdog?

[BalkanXpress]

Another great call by Steve, to add to the collection:

[Unreason]

If a mouse farts in the woods, Steve Mazzagatti stops a fight.

[jasonjohnson]

bad stoppage.

he was losing but bad stoppage.

he would have lost by UD anyway...

still horrible stoppage.

[SurgeonGeneral]

I thought the stoppage was premature but his "rant" really comes off as sour grapes.

I saw nothing to show he was "loosening up", he was getting ragdolled around and it didn't seem like that was going to stop happening.

He's probably lucky he didn't end up getting Kongo'd for 3 rounds.

[DMPunk87]

For all the people saying he was going to lose a unanimous decision, are you psychics?

Yeah, Rothwell was on his way to losing the unanimous decision, but there was still a round and a half left. He could have possibly knocked Cain out, or gotten knocked out himself, or submitted Cain, or anything could've happened. We don't know. That's the whole point.

The fight shouldn't have been stopped then. It's ironic, I wouldn've have complained if Steve had stopped it a little earlier, when Cain was on the ground with Rothwell, dropping punches, but to stop it when Rothwell was clearly improving his position... blah.

But Cain was dropping levels already for the takedown, so who knows... That's the thing, nobody knows what would've happened. It's a shame we didn't find out.