White: Believe me, Ben Askren doesn’t want to fight in the UFC
Dana White: ““The thing is with Ben Askren is that Ben Askren doesn’t really want to fight here, in my opinion. People that are close to him say the same thing.”
UFC president Dana White spoke recently with Matt Parrino for UFC.com’s weekly The Download. Topics covered included the signing of CM Punk.
The feedback has been both – it’s mixed,” began White. “Some people love it, some people hate it. The people who are opposed to it and bitching about it, I get it. Every fight that we do isn’t going to be everybody’s thing, but there will be people who want to watch him and those that don’t.
“He and I have become friends and he told me, ‘I’ve achieved some cool things in my life and I want to try the UFC. It’s not like I’m young enough to fight my way up in the smaller leagues. I’d like to come in and give it a shot and see what I got.’”
Among the critics of the signing are ONE FC welterweight champion Ben Askren. Askren was released by Bellator MMA for an insufficiently fan friendly style of fighting, and the UFC declined to pick him up.
This summer White was asked about Askren and seemed amenable to the idea.
“Yeah, if he keeps winning, he can get a shot over here,” said White. “Ben Askren said a lot of stupid s— when he left, but I don’t care about stuff like that… We’ll see how the kid fights. Contrary to belief – well, I do hold grudges forever if you’re a real idiot, I’ll hold a grudge until the day you drop dead – but I don’t hold a grudge against fighters.”
Askren was not impressed.
“Oh thank you master @danawhite can I please have a shot,” he tweeted.
Askren was likewise not impressed with the signing of CM Punk.
“All you dummies believed @danawhite when he said I need more experience,” tweeted Askren. “Then he signs a 0-0 fake wrestler. LOL on you.”
Parrino reports White was puzzled a bit after reading the tweet.
The thing is with Ben Askren is that Ben Askren doesn’t really want to fight here, in my opinion,” said White. “People that are close to him say the same thing. The guy is making a ton of money to fight nobodies, but when you talk and you say a lot of things it keeps your name out there. Trust me when I tell you this, Ben Askren does not want to fight in the UFC. Believe me when I tell you that.