Ben Askren has responded to the suggestion that he serve as the next opponent for UFC star Nick Diaz.

Diaz (26-10 MMA) returned to action from a six year hiatus Saturday night at UFC 266 in hopes of defeating Robbie Lawler for a second time. The pair had originally collided seventeen years ago in a welterweight bout at UFC 47, with the Stockton native emerging victorious by way of second round knockout.

Last night’s Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler rematch resulted in the thrilling fight fans were hoping for. In the end, it was ‘Ruthless’ who exacted his revenge by finishing the Stockton Slugger in the third round.

Following the fight, many fans pondered what could be next for the former Strikeforce welterweight champion. ESPN recently shared an article discussing possibilities for Nick’s next fight and former MMA champion Ben Askren (19-2 MMA) was added as a “wild card”.

‘Funky’ caught news of the article and shared the following thoughts on a potential fight with Nick Diaz.

https://twitter.com/Benaskren/status/1442305974048628740

“Don’t tempt me with a good time and an easy pay check (laughing emojis)”

A Diaz vs. Askren fight has the potential to do well for multiple reasons. Ben Askren is known for his ability to sell a fight and Nick Diaz would make for the perfect opponent to help facilitate with drawing eyeballs to his trash talk. In addition, ‘Funky’ vs. ‘The Stockton General’ would be a classic striker verse grappler matchup. ‘Funky’ has Olympic level wrestling, while Diaz sports some of the best boxing in MMA.

Obviously Ben Askren believes he would have his way with Nick Diaz, as expressed in his tweet above.

‘Funky’ last competed in mixed martial arts at UFC Singapore in October of 2019, where he was submitted by Demian Maia.

Would you like to see a fight between Nick Diaz and Ben Askren?