Ben Askren: Sean O’Malley rematching Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 is ‘a bad move’

Ben Askren thinks Sean O’Malley running things back with Merab Dvalishvili is a risky move.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] running things back with [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] is a risky move.

O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) rematches Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) June 7 in the UFC 316 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. O’Malley lost his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 by unanimous decision in September.

Askren would have preferred to see O’Malley rebound against lower-ranked opposition as opposed to jumping into an immediate rematch with Dvalishvili.

“I kind of think this is a bad move,” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “If he gets beat up by Merab again, then he loses a whole bunch of attraction because it’s like, well, you already lost to the champ twice, so until the champ goes away, they’re not going to give you a third shot against him. He could have fought some, maybe, lower-ranked guys.

“Against guys who can’t take him down, he kind of looks like a real freaking superstar, right? He’s really exciting, very diverse striking attack, so he could have looked really good, built the fight back up into something bigger. But now, I feel like everyone is feeling, ‘Hey, we just saw this, it wasn’t competitive. Why do we need to see this again?'”

Since their first fight, O’Malley underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili notched his first title defense by handing Umar Nurmagomedov his first loss at UFC 311 in January.

“I wish Sean would have taken some more time to improve his wrestling, but he still has dynamic striking, he has knockout capabilities,” Askren said. “Merab has been relatively unstoppable looking in his last handful of fights.”

[lawrence-related id=2815122,2815463,2815460,2815118]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 316.

Ben Askren: UFC should strip Islam Makhachev if he refuses Ilia Topuria fight

Ben Askren wants to see UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev face consequences if he turns down Ilia Topuria.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] wants to see UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] face consequences if he turns down Ilia Topuria.

Topuria (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) claimed that the UFC promised him an immediate title shot at lightweight after he vacated his featherweight title. However, with Makhachev and his team needing Topuria to earn his shot by beating a No. 1 contender, many are questioning if the fight happens.

Askren thinks the UFC should force Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) to face Topuria.

“I think Dana (White) should just do Dana stuff and just say, ‘Hey, Islam, if you don’t want to fight, you’re stripped,'” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “He’s done that. That is in Dana’s repertoire. If you’re the champion, you’re supposed to defend the belt against the best person, right? So Ilia has beaten two legends in a row.

“Not only beat them but finished them at 145 pounds: Volkanovski and Holloway. Very, very clearly the best, choosing to go up. … Given Arman was supposed to have the title shot, and he pulled out on super-late notice so they want to make him fight someone else first. So, that makes perfect sense for Ilia to pop in given the fact that he’s a champion, he’s undefeated, has defeated two legends in a row. I don’t see how you deny him the title shot.”

[lawrence-related id=2814917,2811461,2814063,2810439]

Askren says Topuria is the most compelling fight for Makhachev, and doesn’t understand the pushback. Daniel Cormier explained where the pushback comes from.

“After he knocked him out, all the talk was about, well, you just knocked out a featherweight, it doesn’t lend itself to much,” Cormier said. “I believe that’s the pushback, that even if you beat Topuria who has looked so dominant and so unbeatable, people are still going to say, well, you just beat a featherweight.”

Askren thinks White usually gets his way.

“Having someone who is like a tyrant or a dictator at the top, able to force issues, is kind of helpful because it doesn’t take a genius to realize that if Topuria is vacating and moving, he’s the second best, and Makhachev is the first best,” Askren said.

“You make them fight, right? And so if No. 1, Makhachev, doesn’t want to fight, you say, ‘Hey dude, you got to fight,’ and if he says, ‘No, screw off,’ it’s like OK, we’re going to take your belt and we’re going to put Topuria against someone else.”

Demetrious Johnson, Ben Askren discuss who won UFC-ONE Championship trade

In 2018, an unprecedented trade in MMA took place between the UFC and ONE Championship, but who won?

Former UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] was traded for ex-ONE Championship title holder [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag]. Johnson went onto capture the ONE flyweight title, capping off his career by besting Adriano Moraes 2-1 in their rivalry.

Meanwhile, Askren came in with a bang by finishing Robbie Lawler in his octagon debut at UFC 235. Despite then being on the receiving end of the fastest knockout in UFC history courtesy of Jorge Masvidal, his ability to sell a fight made him a big star in such a short amount of time.

Judging by the way things panned out, Johnson thinks both organizations benefitted from the trade.

“My standpoint, I said everybody won,” Johnson told Askren on his “MightyCast” podcast. “I got to go to ONE Championship, make good money. You got to come to the UFC, get the opportunity to fight, see what you could do there. The UFC got you, which you were very good about creating buzz. Your sh*t-talking was actually intelligent sh*t-talking. You would be very good snippets.

“So if it wasn’t for you, they might not have the rise of Jorge Masvidal without that flying knee. …Without that flying knee you would never have Jorge Masvidal, ‘Street Jesus’ baptizing people coming up, then you wouldn’t have Kamaru Usman, you wouldn’t have Leon Edwards. Then you look at ONE Championship, they got me, I was able to fight, I get knocked out over there to show that their competition is actually legit. I come back and I beat Adriano. So I think, all in all, everybody won. What say you?”

After losing to Masvidal, Askren was submitted by Demian Maia in October 2019, before opting to hang up his gloves. He agrees with Johnson on both parties benefitting, where his move to the UFC re-ignited a final run.

“ONE Championship, the thing that was golden for them is I wasn’t going to fight,” Askren said. “I was done. If you stay in the UFC, I’m assuming you’re going to continue to fight, at least for a while. And in ONE Championship, I was legit done. I wasn’t fighting anymore.

“So, they essentially sold an asset that was kind of off market for – and you had a five-year run where I think you’ve done some grappling matches, you did a mixed-rules match, you did MMA, you’ve done a lot of things over there, which is obviously very cool. I think the most correct answer is everybody won. I got what I wanted, you got what you wanted.”

[lawrence-related id=462063,2770066,2693777]

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.”

[lawrence-related id=2781515,2781233,2777551,2775510]

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.

[lawrence-related id=2772101,2772032,2771814]

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.

[lawrence-related id=2766781,2766503,2762269,2761543]

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.

[lawrence-related id=2753704,2753339,2751209,2752781]

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+).

[lawrence-related id=355186,2630762,2599089,1825163]

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.”

[lawrence-related id=2739043,2738970,2738972]

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.

[lawrence-related id=2734142,2734078,2732484,2733245]

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