Rothwell Out For Nine Months After ACL Surgery

This past Tuesday, UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell underwent surgery to repair his ACL and torn meniscus. The surgery comes under two months after his unanimous decision victory over Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115.

MMAjunkie.com reported the news earlier this morning.

Rothwell stated that he sustained the injury during his first takedown against Yvel in a fight that drew a lot of criticism from Dana White, who was seemingly very unhappy with Rothwell’s inability to finish the fight. The Wisconsin native expects a return in the first quarter of 2011, but has already began physical therapy. He will be able to start back up on strength training in three months.

The victory over Yvel pushed Rothwell’s record to an impressive 31-7, but was only his first fighting under the UFC banner. In his debut with the promotion at UFC 104, Rothwell was battered for the better part of 5:58 by current top contender Cain Velasquez. He was scheduled to face Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in his second UFC contest, but had to withdraw due to illness.