Ben Askren: the tale that almost was.

Really wanted to see him in the UFC, and the funny thing is that he could have been a good star for the UFC. He might not have had the most entertaining fights, but he's pretty good on the mic and would've brought more interest for his fights.

Dana's argument for not bringing him in was pretty dire aswell. Askren said that Lorenzo was fine with him, but once again, Dana didn't want to do the deal.
 
BenAskren3-729084_crop_north.jpg

people want this guy to be the face of the ufc...mma will die
 
I still say he'll end up in the UFC in the future...If he wants to fight the best guys anyways...
 
DLX said:
I still say he'll end up in the UFC in the future...If he wants to fight the best guys anyways...
Click to expand...

That's implying that the decision would be left up to him and clearly its not up to him if he fights in the UFC and he also said on the MMA hour that he might not even want to fight there now because of how they are treating him he said maybe if it was a lot of money he would but even then he's not sure, now I think If they called him tmw and one FC let him he'd still go to the UFC but that's my opinion. Also on the other side I'm sure he was asking for a lot of coin I mean I know he said he'd fight Rory for free if he lost to him but no one knows what he wanted to get paid if he would win? so I'm guessing it was a lot and that prolly has more to do with him not being signed than anything.
 
Schatten42 said:
This guy wont sell fights. UFC is a business. They don't need him regardless of how good he is.
Click to expand...

Of course they dont need him and he wouldnt be a star, honestly all the people complaining about the UFC not signing him would be the first ones bitching at the UFC for making askren/Condit a main event and seeing Askren lay on Condit for 5 rounds.

They'd be the same people calling Joe Silva a dumbass for matching exciting fighters with boring Askren, just like they do with Joe Silva matching Shields up with guys.

BUt despite all that the guy still deserved his chance to fight the top guys in the UFC. He deserved his chance to prove if he is the best WW or not.
 
CC27 said:
Of course they dont need him and he wouldnt be a star, honestly all the people complaining about the UFC not signing him would be the first ones bitching at the UFC for making askren/Condit a main event and seeing Askren lay on Condit for 5 rounds.

They'd be the same people calling Joe Silva a dumbass for matching exciting fighters with boring Askren, just like they do with Joe Silva matching Shields up with guys.

BUt despite all that the guy still deserved his chance to fight the top guys in the UFC. He deserved his chance to prove if he is the best WW or not.
Click to expand...

If Askren can beat Condit then doesn't Askren belong in the UFC? I understand the UFC wants to be entertaining, but if it wants to be considered the "SuperBowl of MMA" then it should be signing the best fighters regardless of if they are exciting or not.

Like you said a guy like Askren - undeafeated Champion in another organization, Olympic Wrestler- at least deserves a chance in the UFC.
 
I don't get the argument of him not appealing to fans? I don't think his fights are any worse than most of the wrestlers (and there a lot of them) in the UFC.

Plus, he's pretty entertaining in post-fight talks and can talk trash pretty well. Just seems like a smaller, and better, Sonnen.
 
Love him or hate him, the guy would have moved the needle. Let him pick fights with dudes and troll the shit out of them...that kind of stuff can draw just as many eyeballs as awesome & entertaining fighters can.

^
Ok, I wrote that, then read this, from the article...says it better than I could...

But the truth is, Askren does has a certain kind of "it" factor that gets people talking. He’s loud, he’s obnoxious, he’s a Twitter madcap (look at his recent exchange with Phil Baroni). He knows how to handle a microphone. And he wins. With the right marketing, this kind of package could move the PPV needle. People could care. Undoubtedly many would pay to watch him get served his comeuppance. Others, the diabolical few, would tune in to watch him operate as a monkey wrench in the system works.
Click to expand...
 
Let him finish a few guys at OneFC and he'll be in the UFC in a few years...
 
One FC??? So it's a pretty solid bet Ben Askren's record will be 18-0 when he's done his 6 fight contract there. Seems logical, the UFC deal didn't pan out so why not head to a start up promotion in Asia? AKA:Wrestling shark tank :rolleyes:
As much as i dislike Askren the best thing he could've done for himself was go to WSOF get a scrap with fitch or maybe Burkman and raise his stock in terms of comp. At least now we can see him scrap Kamal Shalorus because that's all i'm interested in seeing out of Askren: how he deals with other talented wrestlers, not dry humping kickboxers.

After watching that MMA hour interview i can't help but think if Askren wants in the UFC, he's gonna have to learn to swallow his pride and keep quiet.
And i'm aware of the double standard in terms of Dana, BUT, Dana is the fucking President of the Org. You don't walk into work and tell the boss "Fuck you pay me" it just doesn't work that way (as unfortunate as that is).

Also i found it humorous that Askren says most of the UFC roster sucks at MMA, No Ben, they suck at wrestling.

Even funnier is the absolute shit he talks about Baroni. You go Ben! Refuse a fight against the only guy with a shred of name recognition
Genius.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Just cause Dana didn't sign Ben yet, doesn't mean he couldn't have got a spot on the roster in a year or two. If Ben really wanted into the UFC, he should have signed a one year contract with WSOF like Dana suggested, seperated himself from the bellator situation, beat guys like Rousimar Palhares, then see if Dana would reconsider him in 12 months. Right now Ben is shooting himself in the foot. His goal is still completely obtainable but he's stopping himself from achieving it.
 
This whole situation is funny. People are swinging from Askrens balls because of the UFC not signing him. The same people who would be bitching and calling for his termination if he got signed and tried to make love to fighters on the canvas for 3-5 rounds which they already know is what he does.
 
meh. this is one of those deals where whatever happened, happened.

like a crappy title shot of #1 v #14.

most of the time the UFC has been pretty spot on when it comes to who to sign and who not to sign. sometimes they aren't. waddyagonnado.
 
Schatten42 said:
This guy wont sell fights. UFC is a business. They don't need him regardless of how good he is.
Click to expand...

But they need Shields? Askren actually could be a good heel, and knows how to trash talk. I'm pretty sure he would draw a lot of viewers that want to see him get his ass kicked.
 
SeattleFightFan said:
meh. this is one of those deals where whatever happened, happened.

like a crappy title shot of #1 v #14.

most of the time the UFC has been pretty spot on when it comes to who to sign and who not to sign. sometimes they aren't. waddyagonnado.
Click to expand...

Complain to Dana? If enough people do it, he might change his mind. I doubt it will happen though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Leinster Rugby
Media Askren on Ngannou and Dana
2 3 4
Replies
66
Views
3K
kenetics
kenetics

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,263,192
Messages
57,211,383
Members
175,587
Latest member
Alexander Alikovski

Share this page

Back
Top