Ben Rothwell (30-6) looks to make gamblers very happy by beating the odds and defeating Cain Velasquez at this weekends UFC 104 event in Los Angeles.

“The way I look at it,” said Rothwell, a 2-1 underdog according to most oddsmakers, “I’m going to make some gamblers some money. [Cain's] got a lot of hype behind him and that’s why he’s the favorite. That’s fine with me. People are going to make some money off this one.”

“He seems like a hard-nosed guy. He’s got the wrestling background. He’s got a lot of hype behind him and he’s feeling good right now,” Rothwell said. “He’s had everything go his way. But I’m going to hit him and make him uncomfortable and we’ll see how he does when things don’t go his way. I’m going to be the guy that can actually stop takedowns, the guy who can handle him on the ground, and the guy who’s going to hit him harder than he’s ever been hit before.”

Rothwell has gone 14-1 in his past fifteen fights and 1-1 in his past two. That loss was against Andrei Arlovski at the “Affliction: Banned” event. Rothwell admits the loss was one of his worst performances and attributes that defeat to a momentary lapse.

“He seems like a hard-nosed guy. He’s got the wrestling background. He’s got a lot of hype behind him and he’s feeling good right now,” Rothwell said. “He’s had everything go his way. But I’m going to hit him and make him uncomfortable and we’ll see how he does when things don’t go his way. I’m going to be the guy that can actually stop takedowns, the guy who can handle him on the ground, and the guy who’s going to hit him harder than he’s ever been hit before.”

The UFC 104 fight will be the first for Rothwell under the UFC banner, something he has worked to do for years.

“The goal of my career was to get to the UFC, but not just get there — dominate there and finish my career there. The things I’ve done so far are not real accomplishments. To me, there’s only one accomplishment and that’s the belt. This is the chance I’ve been waiting for. It’s my chance to really let my wings unfold. People are going to see an entirely different Ben Rothwell.”

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ben_fowlkes/10/19/velasquez-rothwell/#ixzz0URF24qK2
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