Ben Rothwell, the 41-year-old heavyweight fighter who recently signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), is finally enjoying his career after spending 20 years in MMA. He points out the amount of punishment his body no longer has to endure during training, preparation, and competition, which took a great toll on him.

While he understands that some people find bare-knuckle fighting too brutal, he thinks that MMA is more dangerous because people don’t realize the risks involved in the ground game, submissions, and landing wrong. A study showed that bare-knuckle fighting produced a higher rate of facial lacerations, but the concussion rate was lower than both MMA and boxing.

Rothwell comments that a rabid fanbase wants to see relentless, bloody wars that bare-knuckle fighting can often provide, but that doesn’t make the sport less safe overall. People complain about everything, according to him, but he’s enjoying his career, and he’s thankful for the higher output and the ability to train without problems.

In MMA, the sheer amount of punishment his body endured in preparation for his fights discouraged him, and he likely cruised towards retirement. He points out that fighters don’t get compensated for training camps, only the fights, but that’s where he racked up the most mileage on his body.

Moving to BKFC has given Rothwell a few more years on the fight calendar, and he’s feeling better than ever. He knows he will have to retire, but as long as he has the fire inside him and he’s doing it like he is doing it now, he says he’s going to go. BKFC has made a significant financial investment in signing high-profile names and booking cards that draw a lot of attention.

Rothwell’s objective is simple – to win. He believes he has a lot left to show that he’s not getting credit for and wants to accomplish this goal until the day he hangs his gloves.