You have to love Ben Askren for one reason: he’s one of the few men in the sport who tells the truth with no regard for anything but the concept of the truth. It’s refreshing and Askren, who had been a high profile free agent, officially signed with ONE FC. He announced it on MMA Fighting’s “MMA Hour” Monday afternoon, with financial terms not disclosed by the former Bellator champion but the deal comprising six fights over two years.
He also had some interesting comments on the whole free agent process.
“The meeting went really well,” Askren told host Ariel Helwani. “They were all polite, everything was good, and we talked. Honestly when I left the UFC offices, I thought we were going to come to a deal at that point.
“Later that night they call back and they say that they’re not interested. It was kind of a weird set of circumstances, and after going through the meeting and everything, it’s very clear to me that it’s not really about me. It’s about Dana’s quarrel with Bellator and [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] … because when you look at his main argument — that I’m not I’m good enough — it’s shenanigans, plain and simple.
“They’ve got 84 guys on roster, and frankly, I’d beat half of those dudes with one arm tied behind my back and blindfolded. Some of those guys, they really suck. They’re really bad at the sport of MMA. So when it came down to it, I think it’s all about the Bellator bickering and whatnot.
“Honestly, if you guys knew all the little bulls–t that on behind the scenes between both organizations, you guys would be cracking up so hard.”
You can read further comments from Askren’s interview by clicking here.
