It seemed like the writing was on the wall when Bjorn Rebney was allowing Ben Askren to entertain offers from the UFC. Now it’s official: Ben Askren has been released.
The Bellator welterweight champ gets his walking papers after his contract expired and Rebney made it known he’d let him walk.
With that, likely one of the biggest free agents has hit the open market. Where does he go from here? In my opinion, and likely the opinion of many others, it should not be the UFC, at least not yet.
The reasoning behind this is simple. He is not exciting, he is not marketable and I am sure he would require a decent-sized contract at the very least.
Let me start off by saying that Askren, while one-dimensional (as Rebney pointed out), is very good at that one thing. He is an incredibly athletic wrestler who snags the takedown almost on demand.
However, once he gets somebody to the ground, it becomes a lay fest. He rarely looks to pass, his ground-and-pound isn’t intimidating and his submission prowess has yet to really be displayed.
The UFC has a number of fighters like this under contract and they tread water immediately. Sure, Askren is probably better, but we are looking to make future, marketable champions who have the potential for staying power. I don’t see that in Askren.
Imagine if Askren did get a title fight. Do you think many people would be willing to shell out around $50 to see him headline a pay-per-view, whether it be against Georges St. Pierre, Johny Hendricks or whoever is champion at the time?
I know I wouldn’t. In fact, I would put the $50 that I would have spent on the pay-per-view down on a bet that says it would be a box office flop.
Plus, in return for that, he would likely have a decent-sized to hefty contract. That is not something, if I were Dana White, I would give to a guy who isn’t worth the value. He has likely earned the right for a good amount of money with his track record, but in the scheme of things, it’s not an amount of money the UFC should invest.
Now, I am not saying the UFC should never get on the Ben Askren train, but I would let him do some work in other promotions first to prove he can at least show a smidgen of excitement. Sure, Askren is a great heel, but this isn’t pro wrestling, and fans like to see good, exciting fights. They don’t like watching wrestling matches.
Bellator has become a storage locker for UFC castoff talent. The UFC should try to avoid doing the same with Bellator fighters, even though Askren‘s track record is better than most of the UFC castoffs who head to Bellator. Plus, the UFC welterweight division is already littered with wrestlers, so Askren would just be adding on to that high number.
Until Askren shows signs of all-around improvement or more impressive finishing acumen, I say let him wander the lower shows for a tad. If he continues to win, beat credible opponents and show a tinge more of excitement, I say welcome him aboard.
Right now just isn’t the right time.
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