Hard to believe there was a time when Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, was trashing the “stupidness” of former Bellator MMA and ONE Championship welterweight champion, Ben Askren, simply because he didn’t compete inside the Octagon.
Just kidding, he shits on everybody (because they “deserve it”).
But now that Askren has joined the ranks of UFC, in exchange for ex-flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, White is singing a whole new tune. Probably because “Funky” has been able to generate attention for himself, as well as the promotion, in his new home.
“Askren has been fun,” White told Yahoo! Sports. “This guy’s smart, he’s funny, he likes to mix it up with everybody in a fun way, too. So it’s been good. I’m glad he’s here. Timing is everything in life and this was the perfect time for Ben Askren to be in the UFC.”
Too bad that admiration ends at the matchmaking table.
“I’m trying to make the [Robbie] Lawler rematch,” White said. “First of all, that fight was awesome, it was fun, it was controversial but it’s the fight to make right now. It’s terrible when that [controversy] happens. That’s the fight we want to make.”
Askren has no desire to rematch Lawler after what appeared to be a blown call by the referee at UFC 235 (details here). Prior to the choke that may or may not have been a submission, “Ruthless” nearly gave us the first pay-per-view (PPV) snuff film in UFC history.
The former Olympic wrestler was hoping to eliminate Darren Till from the welterweight title chase; however, Jorge Masvidal beat him to the punch (literally) at UFC London last weekend across the pond (highlights here).
So … Askren vs. Lawler 2 this summer?