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Ben Askren puts on his conspiracy hat trying to explain USADA’s testing approach with Ji?í Procházka: “They know he’s dirty.”

Ben Askren gives one plausible and one hilarious reason as to why Ji?í Procházka has been drug tested by USADA so much. In 2022, the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Ji?í Procházka was drug tested a staggering 64 times by USADA. This included one month span where Procházka was tested 24 times. The second most […]

Ben Askren gives one plausible and one hilarious reason as to why Ji?í Procházka has been drug tested by USADA so much.

In 2022, the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Ji?í Procházka was drug tested a staggering 64 times by USADA. This included one month span where Procházka was tested 24 times. The second most drug-tested UFC fighter was Paulo Costa, who was tested 20 times in all of 2022. So, Procházka was tested more in one month than any other UFC fighter all year. This anomaly had people wondering what was the reason behind this aggressive drug-testing stance against Procházka.

It seems as if Ben Askren might have the answers if you’re willing to indulge in his out-of-the-boxing reasoning, which he explained in a recent interview with Daniel Cormier.

“He’s dirty and they know he’s dirty and they just can’t figure out how to catch him, that’s obvious number one. Number two, there is like a Polish USADA branch and they need to get a certain amount of tests and there’s only like four athletes so they just test him all the time because it’s close and he’s patient,” Ben Askren joked. (H/T MiddleEasy)

Ben Askren believes there might be an oddity behind why USADA has tested Ji?í Procházka so much

The prior two reasons seem plausible enough, although they do have a conspiracy angle to them. But, Ben Askren wasn’t finished unpacking his thought process just yet. He put forth another reason why Procházka has been drug-tested so much.

“Daniel. I always had this old dude come to do my test, you got a person or a couple of people. The person that’s testing him likes looking at his junk. They’re like, hey, I like your c-ck. Let me stare at it. That’s, that’s definitely possible.”

Of course, Ben Askren was joking when he put forth that statement. But, during the interview, he did raise an important point regarding the number of tests Procházka has had to face compared to athletes over several years. So much so, that Askren believes Procházka could get his lawyers involved.

“In 2017 the average amount of tests per athlete was four and a half, 2018, four tests per athlete. 2019, six. 2021, six. 2022, 5.5 average test per athlete. Over the course of all of those years, the most tested athlete in a single year was Misha Cirkanuv up at 27,” he said. “We’re talking 1000s of athletes. And Jiris’s like up here. I created some explanations on why they might be testing him. If I was Jiri, I might have my lawyer send USADA a message and say I need some explanations on why you’re testing me this month.”

Ben Askren “Loved” Paddy Pimblett’s Post-Fight Interview At UFC 282

Former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren has praised Paddy Pimblett for his Octagon interview at UFC 282. One of the most notable matchups on offer at this past weekend’s pay-per-view saw rising star Pimblett look to continue h…

Continue Reading Ben Askren “Loved” Paddy Pimblett’s Post-Fight Interview At UFC 282 at MMA News.

Ben Askren Describes ‘Missing Out’ On His Prime Years

Ben Askren has spoken of the frustration at never getting to test himself against the UFC’s best while in his prime. The former Olympian and multiple promotion world champion had planned to sign with the UFC in 2013. He went through a long and co…

Continue Reading Ben Askren Describes ‘Missing Out’ On His Prime Years at MMA News.

UFC veteran Ben Askren advises younger fighters against pursuing MMA run: ‘It’s a sh*tty career’

Former UFC welterweight contender, Ben Askren has advocated against pursuing a professional mixed martial arts career as a young, up-and-coming fighter, highlighting the luck involved in order to land within a big promotion, as well as the expenses of just competing and preparing to compete. Askren, a former Bellator MMA and ONE Championship welterweight champion […]

Askren, a former Bellator MMA and ONE Championship welterweight champion to boot, called time on his professional mixed martial arts career back in November 2019, after undergoing surgery to address a long-standing hip injury.

Competing on three occasions under the banner of the UFC following high-profile swap from ONE Championship which saw former UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson move in the opposite direction, Askren debuted in the Octagon in 2019.

Landing a controversial bulldog choke win over former welterweight titleholder, Robbie Lawler in his landing, Askren then found himself on the receiving end of the fastest knockout loss in UFC history, after Jorge Masvidal landed a stunning 5-second flying knee KO.

Ben Askren last competed in October 2019 in his final UFC bout

Headlining UFC Fight Night Kallang back in October of that year, Ben Askren, now 38, suffered a technical submission loss to Demian Maia courtesy of a third round rear-naked choke.

Returning to combat sports for a professional boxing match against Jake Paul last year, Askren suffered a first round knockout defeat.

Outlining the financial barriers and risk factors in pursuing a career in professional mixed martial arts, Askren advised young fighters from putting all their eggs in the proverbial sport basket.

“I usually advocate against MMA, it is a sh*tty career,” Ben Askren told MMA Junkie during a recent interview. “You know, I say, many thousands of people across America want to do MMA. Man, you make it to the UFC – this is what I talk them through when they’re not ‘that’ skilled. Make it to the UFC – which, that’s hard, right? You’re gonna have to do a bunch of amateur fights, and a bunch of low-level pro fights, someone’s gonna have to see you, you’re gonna have to not get injured. All these good things are gonna have to happen for you.”

For anyone thinking about going into MMA, @Benaskren wants you to first know that it's "a shitty career" and explains why.@MMAJunkieGeorge and @thegoze's interview: https://t.co/D4WKk2cCiA pic.twitter.com/AqBHDSe5P4

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 15, 2022

“You make it the UFC, and you’re on a baseline contract, and you win all three fights your first year, you probably make like $80,000,” Ben Askren explained. “Well, okay, that’s alright. But then, hold on, you didn’t pay your management, you didn’t pay your trainer, you didn’t pay your taxes. Sh*t, you’re sitting on $30,000 to $40,000, you’re living at the poverty level – and that’s if you won all three fights. And if everything goes really well for you – MMA is not a great career.”

Askren Calls Jake Paul Disingenuous On Fighter Pay Talk

Ben Askren is not convinced by Jake Paul’s fighter pay talk. Some of the biggest disagreements in mixed martial arts over recent years have come when discussing fighter pay. The conversation was brought to light when former MMA fighters began to …

Continue Reading Askren Calls Jake Paul Disingenuous On Fighter Pay Talk at MMA News.

Ben Askren suggests trading Petr Yan for Demetrious Johnson: “Maybe they get Mighty Mouse back.”

Former ONE and Bellator world champion Ben Askren has some ideas for the future of Demetrious Johnson. ‘Mighty Mouse’ was traded from the UFC to ONE Championship in 2018 in exchange for the collegiate wrestling great ‘Funky’ Askren. After winning twelve UFC title fights, Johnson earned a loss to Olympian Henry Cejudo, then, the UFC […]

‘Funky’ Ben Askren believes that with the raised stock of ‘Mighty Mouse,’ the UFC may be interested in doing a trade again to get Johnson back. Recent reports indicate that Russian bantamweight Petr Yan may be currently unhappy with the organization and would like to leave the UFC.

Askren put it all together and said the UFC should look to get Demetrious Johnson back and send to ONE:

“Petr Yan. I don’t think he wants to be there anymore, they should find some good trade material for him. I think he wants to fight in ONE since he trains out of Thailand. I’m sure there’s somebody you can find in ONE, maybe they get Mighty Mouse back. That would be wild.” [Transcript courtesy of MMA News]

Petr Yan does train at Tiger Muay Thai in Bangkok, Thailand so competing in Singapore would be closer to home for the Russian fighter. Ben Askren discussed this idea in an exclusive interview with MMA News. See the full interview below:

Demetrious Johnson in ONE Championship

‘Mighty Mouse’ Demestrious Johnson may not be receptive to a trade though. The US-born athlete has found tremendous success while competing in ONE Championship and is happy with the management. While competing in ONE, Johnson has earned the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship and the divisional title ONE Flyweight World Champion earlier this year. Additionally, he was able to compete in a special rules super fight against Muay Thai phenom Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

Being able to compete in mixed rules bouts and a Grand Prix was a selling point for ‘Mighty Mouse’ to join ONE. After winning the flyweight throne via knockout earlier this year, Demetrious Johnson discussed ONE in a post-fight interview. He said:

“It feels good. As I said, I’m a platinum guy, right? And when I signed with this organization, when he announced like the World Grand Prix, and once I saw that World Grand Prix platinum belt, I was like, I got to have that f***ing belt. I was like, I need that belt … I’ve always wanted to win a World Grand Prix. That was one of the things I grew up watching Cro Cop, Josh Barnett, you know, who was in PRIDE’s Openweight Grand Prix. It was something I really, really wanted.”

From the sounds of things, Demetrious Johnson is happy where he is. He continued:

“I’m just grateful to be in a position I’m in. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to perform on a beautiful platform like ONE Championship and a great partnership with Amazon Prime.”