“Well, they had to dangle some type of carrot to get him to agree to take a beating,” says Ben Askren.
Jorge Masvidal could soon be fighting for the UFC welterweight title.
If ‘Gamebred’ gets past former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren at UFC 239, the ex-street fighter will be next in line for a title shot, according to his recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
The current welterweight champ is Kamaru Usman, who is expected to face Colby Covington in his first title defense later this year.
Jorge Masvidal tells @arielhelwani the UFC have told him if he beats Ben Askren he will get the next title shot at 170lbs.#HelwaniShow Link:https://t.co/IK7xE0M9Lw
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 22, 2019
This prompted a response from Askren, who says the promise of a title shot was probably the only way Ultimate Fighting Championship could get Masvidal to accept the fight.
Well they had to dangle some type of Carrot to get him to agree to take a beating. https://t.co/jMwBQkkrxm
— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) April 22, 2019
“Well they had to dangle some type of Carrot to get him to agree to take a beating,” Askren posted on Twitter.
Askren last fought at UFC 235, where he submitted former 170-pound champ Robbie Lawler in the first round. The bout was marred with controversy, however, after it was revealed that Lawler didn’t tap out and even gave the thumbs up to referee Herb Dean to signal that he was okay.
As for Masvidal, the MMA veteran recently cracked the UFC’s top-five welterweight rankings after his stunning knockout win over Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 147.
UFC 239, which is expected to feature Masvidal vs. Askren on the main card, is scheduled to take place later this year, July 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.