UFC Vegas 21 has lost one of it’s main card fights for this Saturday night. First reported by Fightful, the heavyweight clash between Ben Rothwell (38-13) and Philipe Lins (14-5) has been called off. The initial report has since been confirmed.
This was going to be a very interesting matchup in the UFC‘s heavyweight division. Philipe Lins had a lot of momentum when he signed with the promotion. When Lins signed his contract with the UFC, he was coming off of being the PFL heavyweight champion in 2018.
Lins took a year and a half to make his debut and it wasn’t smooth sailing. Lins fought twice in 2020 losing both matchups to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser. Given the way the UFC is doing business lately, Lins might be fighting for his job in this matchup.
Back in 2016, Ben Rothwell looked like he was on a run to the title. Rothwell had won four fights in a row and was taking on former heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos. JDS outstruck Rothwell over five rounds to pick up a decision.
A suspension hit Rothwell after that fight and he wouldn’t fight again for another three years. The heavyweight returned in May of 2019. Since making his return, Rothwell has gone 2-3. However, he’s 2-1 in his last three fights.
At this time, the current plan is for the UFC to rebook this fight for a later date. There is no word on what date that might be, but the promotion is planning on keeping these two heavyweights paired up.
UFC Vegas 21 Outlook
With the heavyweight fight off, UFC Vegas 21 is down to 13 fights. However, despite losing the heavyweight clash, the card still looks really good. Of course, the talk is all centered around the return of Leon Edwards (18-3).
Edwards if finally getting back into the octagon after a lengthy layoff. Belal Muhammad (18-3) has stepped up on short notice to welcome Edwards back to the UFC. This should be a fantastic matchup and it will tell us a lot about both contenders. Saturday night should still provide a lot of great action.