Stipe Miocic forced to withdraw from Ben Rothwell bout at UFC Dublin

The news everyone was dreading came today as one of the best fights on UFC Dublin has been cancelled after MMAJunkie reported that Stipe Miocic is out of his heavyweight bout with Ben Rothwell. The UFC will seek a replacement on short notice.

A former wrestling and baseball athlete with Cleveland State University, Miocic is one of the most improved heavyweights in the UFC today. After turning professional in 2010, it took Miocic just six fights and eighteen months to earn himself a spot in the Octagon. Six more wins from seven fights followed in the three years following that as, after being the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson, Miocic was put in against the very elite. And although he lost a decision to former champion Junior Dos Santos, Miocic gained a reputation as someone who deserved to be in the title talk. A win over another top heavyweight, Mark Hunt, then came in May in the last outing for the man who also works as a Fire Fighter.

Now, though, his chances of getting a title shot in the near future have been dealt a big blow with this injury.

For Rothwell, he’ll be hoping a replacement can be found so he can extend a current three-fight winning streak which has seen him take out Brandon Vera, Alistair Overeem and Matt Mitrione.

Gutted Sorry to the fans. Sorry to the @ufc sorry to @RothwellFighter

I'll be back soon. But first I'd like to be able to put my socks on

— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) October 13, 2015