“Ben Askren, I don’t understand why he’s not in the UFC. He’s one of the best in the world and I think it has to do with maybe a problem he has with Dana White, you know but he’s one of the best fighters in the world. If there is a guy that in my career, for my legacy that would have been good to fight, it’d be Ben Askren because he beat everybody. All the guys at Bellator, he beat all the champions outside the UFC but unfortunately, I think he has a fallout with Dana and he never had a chance to fight in the UFC and therefore is stuck. Never went to the value that he’s supposed to be at.
He’s a guy who’s extremely talented. Very dangerous guy but nobody know who he is because he’s never been exposed to the public but he’s very good. In order to have a fight with me, I would have liked him to be exposed to the public so his stock goes up so if I fight him at least it’s a win-win situation. Otherwise, you fight a guy who’s extremely dangerous, who nobody cares about, who nobody knows about. It sucks but that’s the real way to look at it.
The reason why i’m saying that now is because I want him. I want people to be aware of who he is. I want him to have a chance to fight in UFC and to go fight against the big dogs and the big boys of the sport. He’s certainly in the top 5, maybe top 3 in the welterweight division.
advertisement – continue reading belowIt’s not a fight that will interest me now because nobody knows who he is.”
There has been no secret as to what fight Ben Askren has been campaigning for. The former Bellator and ONE welterweight king is currently semi-retired but has been very vocal stating he will only return for the fight that can prove he’s the best ever… In his mind that would be against one of the greatest to ever do it, Georges St-Pierre.
For the former welterweight and middleweight champion of the UFC, St-Pierre he last fought at UFC 217 when he defeated Michael Bisping to become a champion at 185-pounds for the very first time. He has since vacated the title due to ulcerative colitis but had full intention to defend the belt and believes he will fight again.
“I think I will fight again. It depends on my health condition. It’s too soon to say now. I feel much better now. I’ve always say, I will prioritize my health over my performance.
advertisement – continue reading belowThe truth is, I knew I had the condition and I knew I would probably have to lose weight. I was forcing myself to add weight [to fight at middleweight]. I felt like I had a lot of water retention. It was not a healthy way of living. So the reason I vacated the title, I didn’t want to put this division on hold. I didn’t want to make people wait for me.”
Although GSP isn’t quite ready to give Askren a fight due to lack of exposure to the public, GSP does have some names in mind that he thinks qualifies.
“Conor McGregor, money-wise, I believe is the one that can put more money on the table. However, legacy-wise, I don’t think he’s the guy. If I come back, it’s for legacy. That’s what interests me the most, more than money. Money, yes, it’s good, but if I come back, it will be more for a legacy match.
Let’s say Nick [Diaz] comes back and fights for title. Diaz for me, now, is not a good fight…but let’s say he comes back and wins a title or accomplishes something great, now his name is higher, his brand is higher. Now maybe, it’s worth it. That’s how I see things.”
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Will ever see GSP fight again? And if so who will it be against?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/5/2018.