Ben Askren relates to Francis Ngannou dealing with Dana White’s wrath: ‘It’s essentially slander’

Speaking from experience, Ben Askren knows if Dana White “doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he just starts crapping on people” – as is the case with Francis Ngannou.

Like [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag], [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] had his war of words with UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag].

Last week, White went off on Ngannou by criticizing his character and insisting that he ran away from a fight with Jon Jones by opting to sign with PFL. Askren identifies with Ngannou, recounting his prior experience negotiating with the UFC.

Askren came close to signing with the UFC in 2013, but it never materialized. He was an undefeated Bellator welterweight champion who had defended his title four times, finishing out his contract after a TKO win over Andrey Koreshkov on July 31, 2013.

After White expressed interest in signing Askren, he changed his tune, which caught Askren off guard.

“Dana spent years lying, saying I didn’t want to fight the best, I didn’t want challenges, I was running away, and that couldn’t have been further from the truth,” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “So, it sucked to have this guy – it’s essentially slander, saying things about me that I knew weren’t true. Dana has this part of his personality when he can’t get what he wants, and in that case, he didn’t offer me a contract, so he kind of got what he wanted.

“But then I think because I was continuing to have success and people were continuing to follow me, he wanted me off in a dark corner where everyone ignored me or something. But he’s done the same thing with Cyborg, I believe Randy Couture had a similar experience, now Francis, but there’s this weird part of Dana’s personality where, if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he just starts crapping on people. And because he has a big microphone and he’s generally very truthful and generally correct, people just believe him.”

Askren went on to sign with ONE Championship, where he captured the promotion’s welterweight title and defended it four times. He finally joined the UFC in 2018 after ONE traded him for Demetrious Johnson. Askren submitted Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut in March 2019 but then went on to get finished in back-to-back fights against Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia before retiring.

Looking back, Askren wished he could have signed with the UFC earlier.

“I wanted to fight the best in 2013 and anytime forward,” Askren continued. “And so then he got me in 2019 when I probably should have had hip replacement prior to that, but it was like, ‘Hey, this is my opportunity, I’m going to take it. I don’t care if I’m not optimized where I should be. I get an opportunity, I take an opportunity, and I’m not going to complain about it.’ But, yeah, I would have loved to have that in 2013.”

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Ben Askren goes off on ‘addict’ Conor McGregor after Michael Chandler fight falls through

Ben Askren didn’t hold back on Conor McGregor: “This guy is out of control.”

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] didn’t hold back on [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] after his fight with Michael Chandler officially fell through.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was scheduled to return from a three-year layoff to face Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at UFC 303 in June but withdrew after breaking his pinky toe. Chandler exercised plenty of patience waiting for McGregor ever since they filmed Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in early 2023, but he finally decided to move on and will run it back with Charles Oliveira in the UFC 309 co-main event Nov. 16 in New York.

Askren believes McGregor’s lifestyle choices are to blame for why he’s yet to return to the octagon.

“It’s pretty obvious to me that Conor McGregor is an addict,” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “And he is rich enough that it doesn’t really have a hugely negative impact on his life. Everyone kind of lets him do what he wants to do, but this guy clearly is out partying, can’t show up for training camp. And then because he can’t show up for training camp, he can’t get ready to fight. There’s videos of him partying constantly. And listen, if you’re rich and famous and you’re not murdering anyone or anything worse where you’re going to go to jail, I guess fine, whatever. Go live your life.

“But he did kind of drag on that he was going to fight for two years. So it’s really annoying, but I was on record saying he’s not fighting in 2023. I was on record saying Michael Chandler should move on and just say, ‘Hey, you’re not a serious fighter anymore, you’re an addict and you can’t train.’ I’ve said that many times. …Probably both (drugs and alcohol). I don’t know that I can make any pronouncements without actually seeing him do it, but I’ve watched videos enough to know that this guy is out of control, he’s partying constantly, and from all rumors, he’s on multiple substances.”

Dana White was never confident in a McGregor comeback in 2024 after he pulled out of UFC 303. However, McGregor remains perplexed by his delayed return, claiming that he’s been frequently drug tested and is ready to fight.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Ben Askren: Ex-UFC champ Kamaru Usman is ‘likely over the hill’

Is former UFC champ Kamaru Usman done being an elite welterweight? Ben Askren believes so.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] believes UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] wanting to face [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] is a win-win situation for him.

Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) told MMA Junkie that he’d be open to making his first title defense against either Usman or Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is on a three-fight losing skid, but Muhammad has been igniting a feud with the former champion. Askren thinks Usman’s best days are behind him and that Muhammad is just looking to add a big name to his resume.

“I actually think Belal is getting the better of him (Usman) on the trash talk,” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “Usman has a big name, he’s a former champion, one of the longest-reigning welterweight champions. …One of the ways that Belal could see this: This is a guy with a big name, who held the belt for a while, and now he’s over the hill. So he could be an easier opponent for him potentially.

“That (Chimaev fight) was a little bit ago. So once you get over the hill, you get over the hill fast. He’s a little younger than I am. Maybe, potentially he’s looking at that fight vs. Shavkat. He’s going to be well known, but he’s not huge yet. I would say he’s likely over the hill. I do not like him. That being said, I believe my judgment to be correct. Fighters over the age of 35 at 170 and under are like 2-37. So, the facts are on my side, as well.”

Usman’s losses came twice to Leon Edwards in title fights – a come-from-behind knockout loss, followed by a close decision loss. He then suffered a short-notice majority decision loss at UFC 294 to Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight.

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Ben Askren knew Jiri Prochazka would lose when he started ‘to worry about witchcraft’ ahead of UFC 303

Ben Askren thinks Jiri Prochazka’s head wasn’t in the right space going into UFC 303.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]’s head wasn’t in the right space going into UFC 303.

Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was knocked out by light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in their title-rematch this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In the lead-up to the fight, Prochazka pleaded with Pereira to not seek spiritual help from Shamans, and to fight in a pure and clean way. On his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier, Askren knew that mindset would lead to Prochazka’s downfall.

“I hate it,” Askren said of Prochazka’s thoughts leading into UFC 303. “If you start talking like that, that is a clear sign you’re going to get your ass kicked. If you’re starting to worry about witchcraft, no, you’re done. You’re not going to win.

“I said, ‘Listen, if he’s worrying about witchcraft, this is going to be over quick. He’s going to get knocked out,’ and that’s what happened. … When you get that far, it’s a little too far. I said it – I hate this. I hate the fact he was thinking about this kind of stuff. If you think about that type of stuff, it’s probably over for you.”

Prochazka was visibly distraught after his second title loss to Pereira, prompting him to say that if he doesn’t evolve, he won’t fight again.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Ben Askren convinced Conor McGregor is jealous of Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘No money can make up for that’

“Conor wishes that he had that much respect for himself, but he is too busy with prostitutes and cocaine that he just can’t control himself.”

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] believes [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s constant shots at [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] are fueled by jealousy.

McGregor and Nurmagomedov competed in the highest-selling pay-per-view event in UFC history when they squared off in a title fight at UFC 229. The build-up was ugly, but Nurmagomedov got the last laugh when he submitted McGregor to retain his lightweight belt. Nurmagomedov couldn’t contain himself after finishing McGregor as he immediately jumped the fence to attack his corner. A brawl ensued between the two teams, and the bad blood is very much alive from McGregor’s side.

McGregor accused Nurmagomedov of running from competition when he retired in October 2020 and has continuously insulted him – most recently after hearing the rumors of Nurmagomedov allegedly underpaying his businesses’ taxes.

“That’s typical rat behavior,” McGregor said in a livestream with Duelbits. “Scurrying rat. Fight for legacy, two main events or something he has in the UFC, and he owes his b*llocks to the Russian government.

“So, he’s going to pay his f*cking money that he owes instead of siphoning it out through to other countries. I’m ecstatic and delighted that that’s coming on top of him, and we will all welcome him back into the fight game where he’s ran from.”

Askren is not surprised to see McGregor go after Nurmagomedov and theorizes that “The Eagle” is everything he wishes he was.

“He’ll never not do that, ever,” Askren said of McGregor on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “He’s going to be 80 years old attacking Khabib because he’s jealous, of course. No doubt in my mind at all. He’s got all the money in the world. Deep down in his heart, what he wanted to be was the most respected fighting champion on planet earth.

“No money can make up for that. That’s what Khabib is. Khabib is a fighting champion that everyone has a deep amount of respect for because of the way he lived his life. Conor wishes that he had that much respect for himself, but he is too busy with prostitutes and cocaine that he just can’t control himself. So, of course he’s jealous of Khabib.”

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns from an almost three-year long layoff in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at UFC 303 June 29 in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Ben Askren: Jon Jones would probably need two and a half minutes to finish Alex Pereira

Ben Askren doesn’t see Alex Pereira lasting too long if he fought Jon Jones.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] doesn’t see [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] lasting too long if he fought [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

UFC heavyweight Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) brought the idea of that matchup to life when he claimed that a fight with light heavyweight champion Pereira would be the biggest fight in MMA history.

Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who teased a move to heavyweight before, said he was honored by the mention, but Askren thinks it would be a bad idea for “Poatan.”

“If Alex could beat Tom Aspinall, he would have to stop some takedowns, right?” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “People want to see him have the ability to stop takedowns because if you can’t stop takedowns from Jon Jones, he’s going to take you down and submit you. We saw Pereira be taken down by Izzy Adesanya, and he was kept down for actually a significant portion of time.

“It is kind of wild that we have this guy Pereira who is making his mark as possibly one of the best ever if he keeps winning, yet we still have questions about his wrestling. We don’t know because Jamahal Hill didn’t try a takedown. (Jiri) Prochazka didn’t try a takedown. (Jan) Blachowicz actually did take him down and keep him down for a round. (Sean) Strickland didn’t try a takedown. Adesanya didn’t try.”

Askren sees a fight between Jones and Pereira heavily resembling “Bones'” past fight with Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, where he needed less than a round to take him down and choke him out.

“If he fights Jon Jones, I think there’s a chance it’s over in like, two and a half minutes,” Askren said. “Look what Jon did to Ciryl Gane. Jon is a large man. He’s a high-level wrestler. He’s got great grappling skills. Yeah, I think there’s a possibility of that, for sure.”

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Ben Askren: Jamahal Hill’s ego ‘put him in harm’s way’ vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 300

Ben Askren calls out Jamahal Hill for being overconfident against Alex Pereira at UFC 300.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] was overconfident against UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was knocked out in the first round of his title fight against Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 300 headliner.

Hill predicted a quick knockout of Pereira, but Askren thinks Hill’s antics – like when he caught the imaginary arrow Pereira shot in his walkout – caused him to have misguided confidence.

“My general feeling on that fight, I thought Jamahal Hill was a little too confident saying he was going to stand with him,” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “When he hits people, they fall down, and that’s what Jamahal Hill should have been a little more worried about. I feel like he was too confident. I feel like he disregarded how hard Pereira hits.

“I feel, honestly – hopefully your buddy (Hill) doesn’t get too mad at you for this. My feeling? Ego. Ego gets involved with fighters. He thought everyone is saying, ‘Hey, Jamahal, Pereira is the better standup fighter. He’s going to put you down.’ And he said, ‘No, No, it’s not going to happen.’ We talked about when he caught the arrow and broke it. …That’s ego speaking. I did think that maybe put him in harm’s way.”

Hill immediately turned his attention to former champion Jiri Prochazka after the loss to Pereira. Prochazka knocked out Aleksandar Rakic on the same night.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

If Ben Askren gets called to rematch Jorge Masvidal at UFC 300: ‘I don’t give a damn, I’m out of retirement’

Ben Askren wouldn’t hesitate to come out of retirement to run things back with Jorge Masvidal if an offer came his way.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] wouldn’t hesitate to come out of retirement and run things back with [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag].

Masvidal (35-17 MMA, 12-10 UFC) recently tweeted “unretired,” hinting that he plans on returning to competition after announcing his retirement at UFC 287 in April 2023. Askren believes the motivation is that “Gamebred” likely needs money, even though he currently runs multiple promotions.

“I mean, probably because he ain’t got no more money,” Askren said on Cormier’s YouTube channel. “That’s my best guess. People spend it. Mike Tyson spent $400,000,000.”

Masvidal handed Askren his first-career loss when he knocked him out with a flying knee in a record five seconds at UFC 239 in 2019. Askren has been eager to get his revenge but certainly not in the boxing ring after getting knocked out in the first round by Jake Paul in 2021.

“Listen, if Dana called me and said, ‘Ben, Jorge Masvidal, UFC 300, International Fight Week,’ I don’t give a damn, I’m out of retirement,” Askren said. “I’ll fight him. I don’t care. … Yeah (only in MMA). I suck at boxing. You guys all saw that. I’m not going to fight him in boxing. Are you dumb? I’m not good at boxing.”

Askren won’t hold his breath. He’s not about to beg for the rematch, but if his phone rings with an offer, he’ll be there.

“I want to fight this guy, but he’ll never say yes to that unless maybe he loses some more money or something,” Askren said. “It would be great. I would love to. But you know what? It’s one of those things kind of like what you said about Michael (Chandler).

“It’s like, I don’t want to be begging and groveling for it. I mean, it’s unlikely to happen. If someone calls me and says it’s going to happen, OK, I’m there. If they don’t, I’m just going to live my life.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Ben Askren urges Tony Ferguson to retire after UFC 296: ‘Paddy Pimblett does not seem to be that good’

Ben Askren thinks losing to Paddy Pimblett should signal the end for Tony Ferguson.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] thinks losing to [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] should signal the end for [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag].

Ferguson (25-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) suffered yet another loss when he was dominated by Pimblett at UFC 296 less than two weeks ago. “El Cucuy” dropped his seventh straight fight, tying B.J. Penn for most consecutive losses in UFC history.

Askren doesn’t rate Pimblett (21-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) very highly. So, if Ferguson is losing to the rising star in decisive fashion, Askren thinks it’s time he hangs up his gloves.

“He says he wants to keep fighting,” Askren told Middle Easy. “Is it a monetary thing where he needs to keep fighting for money? I don’t know, but Paddy does not seem to be that good. He really doesn’t. And Tony, he just couldn’t get off his back. I don’t know what his plan was. He is a wrestler. He grew up wrestling.

“He knows how to get up. That’s folkstyle wrestling, but he chose to just be on his back for the entirety of the second and third round, right? It’s like, dude, get up. Maybe even take him down. Paddy is not an elite wrestler. You should be able to go get a takedown on this dude. Make it happen.”

Ferguson insists he’s not done yet. The 39-year-old took to social media to urge his fans to keep the faith, despite many – including UFC CEO Dana White encouraging him to retire.

“His trajectory is so insane,” Askren added. “He was like, 13-0, or whatever the hell he was for a while, and now he’s 0-7. It’s like, yeah, you need to be done, buddy.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

Ben Askren confused by Colby Covington’s UFC 296 strategy, says he was afraid of Leon Edwards’ striking

Ben Askren found Colby Covington’s game plan vs. Leon Edwards strange.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] found [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]’s game plan vs. [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] strange.

Covington was hesitant and tentative in a unanimous decision loss to welterweight champion Edwards this past Saturday at UFC 296. He found little success at the end when he took Edwards down in Round 5.

Askren expected more from Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC), but thinks the danger of Edwards’ (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) striking had something to do with his lackluster performance.

“I don’t know what his strategy was,” Askren told Middle Easy. “I think the best strategy for victory for him was make cardio a factor, get the takedowns, stay on top – which is what he did in the fifth round. But I think Leon kind of said, ‘I’m going to concede this round; I’ve won this fight’ – that type of thing. I don’t know if that was the right move by him, but that’s what he did. It looked like he was kind of fearful of Leon’s striking and just stayed back and never got in the groove.

“Even in those grappling exchanges later on, Leon proved himself to be more than formidable. There’s a few times I think he even got over-aggressive, maybe overconfident, and ended up in a bad position because of it. On Leon’s end, I really wish he would have turned it up at some point. I think we all came away with the fight with the notion that he’s the better fighter, but if he really would have pressed it, it feels like he could have landed a lot more punches and strikes. He was content to win and not dominate.”

After the loss, Covington called out Stephen Thompson, who was submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov on the same night. Askren sees Rakhmonov as a better option for Covington if he ever wants another shot at gold.

“Maybe Shavkat,” Askren said. “I don’t know if Shavkat would take the fight. The one that makes sense is if you go Leon vs. Belal (Muhammad) and then you go Shavkat vs. Covington. And if Colby were to beat Shavkat, maybe he gets another title shot because that is someone who would make you worthy of that.

“Stephen Thompson is older. He’s kind of on the downhill a little bit if you look at his record. I like him, so it pains me to say that, so maybe Sean Brady or someone to that effect. But I think the one that makes sense is Leon vs. Belal and Shavkat vs. Colby, and the winner gets next.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.