Yesterday, incoming UFC welterweight Ben Askren was scorching. He began by taking much of the UFC 170-pound class to task online. “Funky” closed the day in style by calling out some of the biggest names in the UFC. But one monstrous name was curiously absent from his list, so it’s time Askren reveals why he hasn’t called out Conor McGregor.
The unretiring ONE Championship welterweight king is obviously looking to take on the biggest names in MMA. But when considering a potential superfight with McGregor, Askren was realistic. This morning, he acknowledged online – jokingly or not – that McGregor has too much money to fight him:
Obviously I have called out @TheNotoriousMMA yet, but you know he has way too much money to take one of the whippings I’m giving out. So why bother?
— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) October 26, 2018
He’s probably right. Askren is a dominant, undefeated wrestler who doesn’t have nearly big enough of a name to fight the Irish megastar. It’s one of the worst possible match-ups for McGregor too. He was dominated by lightweight wrestling force Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last fight at UFC 229.
But if the money was truly there, McGregor most likely would be as well. Askren just isn’t on that level in terms of popularity – yet. He made many new fans and many new haters during his callout tour yesterday.
It’s safe to say “Funky” is stirring up a UFC division as few have in recent memory. But it’s going to take a lot more days like that and probably several big wins to even sniff a fight with the UFC’s poster boy.
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