Could it finally be time for Ben Askren and Dana White to mend fences?
On Friday, the former Bellator champion won his 14th straight fight and captured the ONE FC welterweight belt by knocking out Nobutatsu Suzuki.
It would seem like Askren is poised to find new challengers and despite UFC’s welterweight divisions being one of its deepest, it would make sense for Askren to find new challenges there. The problem? There is a history.
After Askren was released from Bellator (by his own request), he met with UFC officials but a deal was never reached. White even suggested for Askren to sign with WSOF to gain more experience. Askren ultimately referred to White as a “bald-headed fat man” and said he seemed happy as being the figurehead of ONE FC.
On Saturday, following UFC 177 in Sacramento, White was asked about Askren to see if his stance has changed.
“I think if he keeps winning, he could get a shot over here,” White said. “Listen, Ben Askren said a lot of stupid sh-t when he left, but I don’t care about stuff like that,” White said. “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.”
It appears Askren also had some choice words for his potential new boss.
Oh thank you master @danawhite can I please have a shot
— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) August 31, 2014
