Ben Rothwell: This is My Big Chance

Most of the hype in the run up to Golden Boy Affliction: Banned has centred on the clash between Fedor Emelianenko vs Tim Sylvia. Another Heavyweight is determined to steal the show and finally get the recognition he deserves.

Ben Rothwell has put together a fantastic winning sequence, but he has picked up many of the victories fighting with the International Fight League. Rothwell is an exciting slugger, who has received his MMA education from the legendary Pat Miletich. Now, he is stepping up to the big stage, to take on Andrei Arlovski

Rothwell told MMAJunkie.com that he is determined to make the most of his opportunity:

"This is the biggest fight for me so far. I've had some tough fights, some good fights, but Andrei Arlovski is a former UFC champion and still ranked high in the top 10. And, anytime you're fighting someone ranked higher than you, it does good things for you. This is a chance for me to truly bring myself into the top 10."

Ben has been studying his opponent and holds him in high regard:

"Yeah, some people took it as a negative thing that he's not as good of a fighter. I, on the other hand, take it that he's a smarter fighter, a more dangerous fighter now, He's not reckless. He realizes that it only takes one punch. People say that Tim Sylvia cracked him and it messed him up … no. Andrei had been knocked out prior to that by Pedro Rizzo and in his first fight. So, that's nonsense to say Tim did that to him. It's just Andrei saying that there's no room for mistakes. I respect that, and I'm fighting a dangerous fighter."

"When you see Andrei in most of his fights recently in the UFC, they break him down as being well-versed. I've got to show the world this, but I pride myself on being well-versed, too. It's an MMA fight. There are a lot of ways to win, and I'm prepared to win in any way that's given to me."

Golden Boy Affliction: Banned presented by Affliction Entertainment in association with Roy Englebrecht Events, is headlined by Fedor vs Sylvia and powerfully supported by some other incredible bouts. Josh "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Barnett fights stateside for the first time in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent to ever knock him out — Brazilian strongman Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo; three-time All-American wrestler Mike Whitehead battles Brazilian sensation Renato "Babalu" Sobral; 2000 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and Oregon House of Representative candidate, Matt "The Law" Lindland, meets Brazilian favorite Fabio "Negao" Nascimento.

More than 250 media credential requests were received heading into today’s deadline, 10 days prior to the event, from numerous foreign countries including Russia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

Heavy metal band Megadeth, led by frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Dave Mustaine, will be performing live at the event on July19th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.