Ben Askren is not giving Nate Diaz much of a chance in his upcoming fight with Anthony Pettis at this weekend’s UFC 241 event.
The former Bellator and ONE Champion, Askren (19-1 MMA), recently took to Twitter where he predicted that ‘Showtime’ will make Diaz look “real bad” this weekend in Anaheim.
I think that @Showtimepettis makes @NateDiaz209 look real bad this weekend https://t.co/vCZDCQXHwd
— Funky (@Benaskren) August 13, 2019
“I think that Anthony Pettis makes Nate Diaz look real bad this weekend.” Askren said.
Anthony Pettis (22-8 MMA) is coming off a sensational knockout victory over former division title challenger Stephen Thompson in his welterweight debut at UFC Nashville.
The former lightweight champion, Pettis, has gone 4-4 over his past eight Octagon appearances, scoring wins over Charles Oliveira, Jim Miller, Michael Chiesa and the aforementioned ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson during that stretch.
Ben Askren did not say exactly why he believes Pettis will make Diaz look really bad at UFC 241. However, it could be due to the fact that Nate has not competed inside the Octagon since suffering a controversial majority decision setback to Conor McGregor at UFC 202 in August of 2016.
After a three year absence, many fans and analysts are not sure what to expect from Nate Diaz. What is guaranteed is that ‘The Stockton Slugger‘ will undoubtedly show-up in fantastic condition for the scrap.
Pettis is currently a slight favorite at -125 according to oddsshark.com.
As for Ben Askren, the brash welterweight standout is coming off the first loss of his professional career. At last month’s UFC 239 event, ‘Funky’ was KO’d in a record-setting five seconds after eating a flying knee from opponent Jorge Masvidal.
Askren is now slated to square off with former UFC title challenger Demian Maia at October’s UFC event in Singapore?
Do you agree with Ben Askren that Anthony Pettis will make Nate Diaz look “real bad” in Saturday’s UFC 241 co-main event? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com August 13, 2019