The Ben Askren sweepstakes are over and ONE FC apparently is the winner. After the UFC declined to make the Bellator champion an offer, and Bellator let their champion hit free agency, the University of Missouri wrestling product has found a new home in ONE FC.
Bloody Elbow is reporting with multiple sources that Askren has signed with the Asian company, coming on the heels of moving his camp part time to Evolve MMA. Dana White and Zuffa apparently didn’t make an offer to the champion per White himself, of course, and suggested the World Series of Fighting as his next promotion instead.
Kubryk’s Take: If Zuffa isn’t going to make him an offer, and One FC will pay him more than WSOF, I don’t see a problem with it. He still won’t have a ton of competition, as OFC has a very barren 170 division, but you can’t blame Askren for taking what’s probably a better deal than what WSOF offered.
The talent may be bare but there isn’t a lot of depth outside of Zuffa at 170 to begin with. A couple of big wins there and he’ll still be in the same spot as he would with WSOF; if they’re going to pay him more than he should take the best offer for him.
What do you think? Is One FC the best place for Askren or would you have preferred to see him in WSOF? Let us know below.
