Ben Askren’s coach wants to see his fighter compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Askren retired from professional mixed martial arts following a successful defense of the ONE Championship welterweight title against Shinya Aoki back in Nov. 2017. At least for now, he walks away from the sport of MMA with a record of 18-0, 1 NC.
“Funky” has made it clear that a big fight against someone like Georges St-Pierre or Rory MacDonald would entice him to return. Bellator president Scott Coker gets the impression that Askren only wants to do a one-and-done type of deal. Bellator isn’t interested in those terms.
Askren’s coach Duke Roufus recently appeared on MMA Junkie Radio and explained why he wants his fighter on the UFC roster:
“I do see the rewards that Tyron Woodley (who also trains at Roufusport) reaps as the UFC champion. There are more zeros there than being the Bellator champion. No disrespect to Bellator. They pay well too. It’s just the UFC pays the best when you’re on top. I don’t know the (ONE Championship) numbers.”
Askren has been renowned for his wrestling. He had a bevy of success at the NCAA Division I level and went 1-1 in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Askren’s style has served him well and he’s yet to run into an opponent he couldn’t get down on the canvas.
Throughout his career, Askren has beaten the likes of Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov. Both men would ended up becoming Bellator welterweight champions. Askren has held Bellator and ONE Championship gold. He has the most successful consecutive title defenses in Bellator history with four.
Do you think we’ll ever see Ben Askren in the UFC?
