The ongoing feud between former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight king Ben Askren and UFC President Dana White appears to have subsided, and there’s a chance the standout wrestler could be fighting in the world’s premiere mixed martial arts promotion after all.
Take note, MMA fans: the Ben Askren ship hasn’t sailed just yet. In fact, Monday saw talk of Askren returning to fighting — in the UFC, no less — intensify for the first time in ages. That all started when Askren was asked by a fan on Twitter to put a percentage on whether he’d fight in the UFC.
His answer? 98%.
— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) October 22, 2018
Before you write that off as ‘Funky’ Ben just being a great self-promoter, consider this: Ariel Helwani of ESPN later added that there is some “promising movement” on the subject of Askren to the UFC. Though, he pointed out, nothing is finalized. Still, between the two, one would imagine that there have been talks at least at some level.
I’m told there has been some promising movement as of late on the Ben Askren to UFC dream but nothing is finalized at this time. https://t.co/iSnx2AkfOf
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 22, 2018
That’s a far cry from years back, when UFC President Dana White rejected Askren, suggesting he pound snow go fight in the WSOF. In fact, just a few months ago, White said he was open to talking to Askren again, so long as the former Bellator and ONE welterweight champ, currently retired, was a free agent.
“Ben Askren hit me up a few months ago and said ‘what are the odds that we can talk about me getting into the UFC?’ White said (via MMA Fighting). “And I said we can absolutely talk about it. And we, I had him, I said you need to send me a letter, before I even talk with you or meet with you or do anything, I need a letter saying you’re a free agent and you’re able to whatever. And he’s not a free agent. He’s not a free agent, he’s under contract with One FC and he’s going to have to go fulfill his contract with them before I would even meet with him or talk to him.”
ONE Championship (as ONE FC is known these days) recently signed former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. While you might not expect them to be keen on losing one of their biggest stars, Askren retired a year ago, after cleaning out his weight class in both Bellator and ONE. It’s unlikely he’d come back for anything but a big fight in the UFC, and ONE might actually choose to release him from his contract to allow just that. Especially since, should he win, it will actually add a little credibility to the promotion’s status as a top competitor to the UFC.
