Ben Askren has said he has no problem with Dana White. Dana White has said he has no problem with Ben Askren. So what’s the problem?
Ben Askren has continued to insist that Dana White has it out for him and that he would like the opportunity to meet with the UFC president to hash everything out. Dana White has claimed that whatever issues Ben Askren believes to exist between them are only in his head. In fact, White does not only claim to hold no animosity towards Askren, but he is thrilled to have him in the UFC (transcription via MMA Weekly):
“Askren has been fun,” White told Yahoo! Sports this week. “This guy’s smart, he’s funny, he likes to mix it up with everybody in a fun way, too. So it’s been good. I’m glad he’s here.”
There is, actually, one small problem after all. Dana White and Ben Askren can’t seem to agree on whom Askren will fight next. Ben Askren had stated that he was eyeing the winner of Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal prior to the bout taking place, but White has now double-downed that the next fight to make for Ben Askren is a rematch with Robbie Lawler after the questionable fashion their UFC 235 bout ended:
“I’m trying to make the [Robbie] Lawler rematch,” White revealed. “First of all, that fight was awesome, it was fun, it was controversial but it’s the fight to make right now.
“Robbie Lawler said the choke was around his ears,” White explained. “So when the ref’s talking to me, his arms are wrapped around my ears, how am I supposed to respond? I gave him the thumbs up. How about the fight (Claudio Silva vs. Danny Roberts) the other night in England that got stopped?
“It’s terrible when that happens. That’s the fight we want to make.”
Do you agree with Dana White? Is Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren II the fight to make?
