From the moment Ben Askren announced his retirement from MMA, you knew it was only a matter of time before Dillon Danis — one of Askren’s chief naysayers — chimed in.

It’s finally happened.

Surprisingly though, Danis’ message to the newly retired former ONE and Bellator champion was quite classy. But it did include a challenge.

you talked the talk and you always made the walk wish you well on your retirement @Benaskren our paths will cross soon.

— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 18, 2019

“you talked the talk and you always made the walk wish you well on your retirement @Benaskren our paths will cross soon.” – Dillon Danis on Twitter.

Danis has been calling for a fight with Askren — more specifically for a grappling match with the wrestler — for a long time.

After being called out a number of times, Askren conceded that he’d be willing to meet the BJJ specialist on the mats once his MMA career was done.

“At this point it’s my MMA career,” Askren stated on a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “When I am done with that if I chose to take part in a grappling contest it would be Dillion Danis.

“Obviously, he challenged me to a grappling match,” he added. “After my MMA career that’s something, I would definitely do.”

While the stars have seemingly aligned for a high-profile grappling match between Danis and Askren, there’s one key detail barring this fight’s fruition.

When Askren announced his retirement on Monday, he also divulged that he’s going to be undergoing a hip replacement, which makes it very difficult to imagine him competing in any kind of combat sport. While it may still be possible — someone with a medical degree should have a better sense of that — it certainly seems unlikely.

Do you think Dillon Danis will get his desired grappling match with the newly retired Ben Askren, or has the time for this contest passed?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/19/2019.