Ben Askren still isn’t feeling the love from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White.
Askren made his UFC debut this past Saturday night (March 2). “Funky” took on former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler on the main card of UFC 235. Askren survived being dumped on his head and being blasted with a series of punches on the ground. He locked in a bulldog choke for the controversial submission win. Referee Herb Dean thought Lawler was out cold, but “Ruthless” protested immediately.
Ben Askren Sounds Off On Relationship With Dana White
During the UFC 235 post-fight press conference, White said he felt Dean made a bad stoppage and that he’d like to see Askren and Lawler have a rematch. Askren appeared on “The MMA Hour” and made it clear that he feels White just flat out doesn’t like him:
“Dana’s disdain for me is so clear and evident. And it’s so hilarious because he keeps saying, ‘no I like you Ben. I don’t dislike you,’ but then like literally every action, every body language tells a totally different story. He is somehow repulsed by me. He hasn’t liked me forever. He didn’t like me in 2013 when they refused to sign me, he doesn’t like me now. I have offered to sit down with the guy multiple times and be reasonable like two adults should do. He’s not taken me up one time. I genuinely don’t know what his problem is with me.”
When host Luke Thomas brought up that White claimed he didn’t know that Askren wanted to speak to him, “Funky” immediately had a retort:
“I grabbed him by the neck! I said ‘Dana let’s sit down and talk.’ He said, ‘why?’ I said ‘because I wanna straighten things out.’ He said, ‘you’re here aren’t you?'”
Do you think Ben Askren is putting too much focus on his relationship with Dana White?
