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The same chorus emerges every time the UFC makes a questionable signing.
“You sign this guy but not Ben Askren?”
The MMA world might not have to type this sentiment out on Twitter and r/MMA much longer.
“I think if he keeps winning, he could get a shot over here,” Dana White said at the UFC 177 post-fight media scrum. His words on Askren took a bizarrely conciliatory tone:
Listen, Ben Askren said a lot of stupid sh-t when he left, but I don’t care about stuff like that. I could care less about any of that. We’ll see how the kid fights, what he keeps doing, and we’ll go from there. Contrary to popular belief–well, no, I do hold grudges if you’re a real idiot. Yeah, I’ll hold a grudge until the day I drop dead.
But with fighters, I don’t really do that with fighters. These guys are built differently than everybody. They’re tough, man, and this is what they do for a living, and they’re going to say stuff like that. If Tito (Ortiz) could come back to the UFC, anybody can come in here. Believe me, because there’s nobody on earth I hated more than Tito. And Tito came back. You don’t have to like them to do business with them. So we’ll see.
At least White acknowledged that he holds grudges better than Russian slap-fighters can puncture pieces of paper. Maybe the declining PPV numbers have made Uncle Dana desperate?
Unfortunately, Askren didn’t seem too keen on White’s words:
So it looks like we’ll be seeing Askren crush cans in ONE FC for a little while longer. What a shame.