According to the UFC heavyweight contender, he was informed by the UFC on Wednesday that the promotion simply could not find a suitable replacement for the injured Stipe Miocic. So as a result, Rothwell was removed from the Oct. 24 card entirely. Rothwell said that while he was very disappointed to not be fighting next week, he understood why the UFC had to remove him from the card.
"No hard feelings towards Stipe at all," Rothwell said. "I've been on the other side of the coin. These things happen, and I'd like to hope that everything happens for a reason.