Silverbacks’ heavyweight, Ben Rothwell, has just finished training after hitting the mitts with Pat Miletich and doing some technique drills. But he’s taking things a bit easier today after his gruelling workout the day before.
“Yesterday we had one of our workouts where we do a circuit incorporating a series of 12 different lifts – two exercises for each body part, then we run for eight minutes, before repeating the process another two times,” says Rothwell.
“You go through it as quickly as possible, doing reps of 15 on each exercise, then get on the treadmill, and start again. So I’m kinda resting up from that, plus we did a lot of sparring last night.”
Although the Silverbacks won the IFL World Team Championship Final on December 29, they have to compete again on February 2nd against Bas Rutten’s Anacondas – the team Steve Rusk regards as being one of their toughest challenges.
And Ben admits it’s a challenge backing up with just over a month between events: “It is hard – I’m okay because I’m in great shape and I got out of my fight unscathed, but some of the other guys had tougher fights, and with just one month… Luckily, after we get through this, we get more time in between, so we’re looking forward to a break after the Anacondas.
[News in from Ben at time of printing: “Rory’s out due to an eye injury.”]
“Everybody looks really good – Rory is ready to come back, to make up for the last one, so he’s excited about that.”
Interestingly, Rothwell shares accommodation above the Team Miletich gym with fellow Silverbacks Rory Markham and Ryan McGivern.
Ben, who’s the rowdiest one of your flatmates? You’d be the quiet one, wouldn’t you?
“I’m in the middle: Mike C (Ciesnolevicz) is the rowdiest.”
But he doesn’t flat with you guys.
“Yeah, well everybody’s real quiet up here, and then Mike C comes and visits before practice, and then it’s chaos. Then we go down to training, and it’s still chaos. It doesn’t quieten down until he goes home.”
You were saying how loud the Quad City crowd was when the Silverbacks fought the Pitbulls. How was the Mohegan Sun crowd?
“It wasn’t quite as intense, but after I head-kicked my opponent, they went crazy.”
Did Quad City fans travel to Connecticut for the final?
“Not so much: My family did and some of Rory’s friends did; Bart had a good group of people, but not like fans from here.”
You’ve won your last eight fights now: Are you looking at double figures, or don’t you look that far ahead?
“I don’t plan on losing any – I train to win every time – and I don’t look further ahead than the next fight.”
What are your hobbies, outside of MMA?
“You know, here and there, I like to hop on my XBOX 360 and play games, once in a while. If there is a game that interests me, but I haven’t played it for the last month and a half. A lot of the time I just don’t have much time for it.
“At Christmas, my mom and my girlfriend bought me some model rockets, because I want to try getting back to doing it, and I really had a lot of fun doing that. It might sound kind of dorky, but I like rockets a lot: I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid, and I know that’s not going to happen, so… I guess I just fantasize by building rockets and launching them off.”
I haven’t heard about these model rockets.
“Estes makes the most popular brand. They actually have engines that you put in them and launch them off. You get some, like a Commanche 3, that go over a mile – pretty wild. And you’ve got to chase them down: I’ve lost a lot of them. The higher you get it to go… If you get it to go out of sight and then you retrieve it, it’s kinda like a trophy then. I have fun.”
It sounds like a ton of fun. Were you happy with your bout against Devin Cole?
“I was. I basically walked out of that ring without a scratch and I finished in probably the most exciting fashion I think a heavyweight can end a fight – with a head kick.”
Could you give a brief rundown of that fight, please?
“Sure. I came out trying to establish my jab, and I knew he was looking to throw and work for a clinch. Once he worked his clinch, he was going to put me against the ropes, grab a leg, and then pull me down.
“He did the first two right: He threw his hands and got his clinch, but the third part he wasn’t expecting – the takedown defense that I have. And I was able to wear him out and he wasn’t able to get a takedown. That went on for about three or four times: We would throw, clinch, and break… But every time he came in he kept getting hit with a right uppercut. I was breaking his face up pretty good – he was bloody in like the first minute of the fight. And after about three minutes of going back and forth like that, we broke apart and he shot real sloppy and I almost kneed him in the head, and he ran away from it.
“He was standing against the ropes with his hands down, and I took about two steps at him and I just made up my mind that I was going to land: I released a right head-kick that landed flush. That was it.”
Do you feel you caused Devin to use a lot of his energy through your resisting his takedowns?
“Yeah, he got himself really tired.”
You said before that you are a very unconventional and unpredictable fighter. Was that how you fought against Devin?
“Yes, he thought I was going to be predictable, but the reason he got caught with the head kick was because he thought I was going to uppercut him again. I’d conditioned him to expect what I wanted him to expect: He thought an uppercut was coming and blocked with his right hand, but a right head kick came – he had no defense there whatsoever.”
Steve Rusk said you guys are expecting Bas Rutten’s Anacondas (February 2, 2007) to be a tough battle because they match up so well against the Silverbacks. Do you agree?
“I think the Wolfpack and the Anacondas are equally tough. I feel that we matched up against the Wolfpack, and going against the Anacondas – I mean, I’ll break down the fight real quick:
“Chris Hordeki vs. Bart (Palaszewski) is going to be an exciting fight because he has his hands and he can work the ground, but so can Bart. Bart has dynamite in his hands, and every time I worry about the kid, he goes and knocks the guys out, so… Bart’s mature, he’s got a lot more fights, and he knows what he has to do.
“They are close match-ups, but I feel that we have a slight edge on all of them, and the fact that Bart’s got the experience – he’s been there so many times before.
“Jay Hieron and Rory (Markham) – Jay has a little bit of momentum because Rory just took a loss, but Rory was in a gunfight and got caught. That could have happened to anybody. I firmly believe that if Chris Wilson came out against Jay Hieron that way, Jay would have ended up the same fashion as Rory did.
“And Rory showed incredible heart: He got up three times, and most would have been done after the first time. He just didn’t get a chance to recover from the first time. It happens; and if Chris and Rory fight again, it could go the exact opposite.
“I believe if Jay gets hit by Rory, it’s going to be lights out. Rory’s constantly working on his defence and working on his things. I don’t think Jay is, in my opinion, as technical as Chris Wilson. Jay is tough and he could win, but again, I think Rory has a slight edge on that fight because of the power in his hands and his ability to defend against what Jay wants to do.
“Benji Radach and Ryan McGivern: Benji’s kind of a well-rounded guy, but I think he favours the stand-up, and he hasn’t fought in a while. And Ryan is an endurance monster – a guy who will not let you breathe, and I don’t think Benji’s faced that kind of pressure before. Maybe he has in the past, but when you haven’t fought for a while and your first fight back is against a guy like that: That is mentally very hard – it’s a very big hill to climb. And Ryan’s going to come after him.
“So we’re confident with Ryan, and if he just stays clear of sheaky subs and keeps good defense on the feet, I see Ryan either catching him with something or winning by another decision.
“Alex Schoenauer and Mike C (Ciesnolevicz): Schoenauer is like tailor-made for Mike C, and Mike has a lot of momentum going right now. They’re similar in style, and I see Mike fending off whatever Schoenauer tries to put on him. Mike has some really dangerous submissions that Schoenauer has shown he puts himself into against other opponents. His previous opponents don’t quite have the reputation that Mike has, and if Schoenauer does get caught in a submission, Mike C is going to finish it.
“And I was supposed to fight Krzysztof Soszynski, but he hurt his ribs (against Mike Whitehead) and they have an alternate to fight me now (Matt Dobson), and he’s 3-1. He’s supposed to be a big kid, and I’m the guy who’s got to go in against the unknown. I think the guy’s just going to come out crazy and throw everything he’s got, because what’s he got to lose?
“He’s a Texan boy and they got him from the Houston area, or somewhere around there, because they’re having hard times finding alternates to fight me.”
I bet they are. So you reckon he’ll come out as a loose cannon, Ben?
“Yeah, he’s probably going to come out scared – not scared in a bad way, but scared in the sense that he’s going to fight his arse off, which makes him a dangerous guy. But unfortunately for him, I’m not taking him easily, so…”
Before you fought Bryan Vetell, you said he didn’t know what he was getting himself into, and that he would be out of his depth with you. Do you feel the same way about Matt Dobson?
“Yes, of course, because all the guys who fight me don’t know what they’re getting themselves into unless they’ve fought me before. Devin Cole was real confident, and about two minutes into the fight I watched the confidence break on his face. He was like, ‘Oh, shit – this is not what I expected.’ And that’s what happens to opponents: They’re good, until I crack them or something doesn’t go their way, and everything changes.”
“He’s doing well. I’m excited he’s in the IFL. He’s in really great shape right now: Since I’ve been here I haven’t seen him cut down as he is right now. He’s been really working hard, and I’ve heard a lot of people talking about his training lately – he’s really taking this seriously, and there’s a dangerous guy right there.”
Are you looking forward to taking on the new Russian Red Bears team on May 19?
“Sure; I’m looking forward to the next three fights we’ve got: the Anacondas, then Ken Shamrock’s Lions, and the Red Bears.”
Do you know much about the Red Bears?
“Not much.”
Do you know who their heavyweight is?
“Yeah, Dmitry – I can’t say his last name (Zabolotny) – but he’s relatively new.”
Ben, is there anything you’d like to add?
“As always, I’d like to thank the IFL, Gareb Shamus and Kurt Otto, their sponsors: XBOX 360, Fairtex, Dali Thomas Popcorn, FSN, and Yahoo.”
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