Ben Askren makes it clear that he will never share the Octagon with Tyron Woodley.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ONE Championship made some waves when a trade was made. Ben Askren was released from his ONE contract to sign with the UFC in exchange for Demetrious Johnson’s release, allowing “Mighty Mouse” to sign with ONE. Askren was considered by many to be the best welterweight outside of the UFC.
Ben Askren Refuses To Fight Tyron Woodley
Askren and Woodley are close friends and have been for years. They train together at Roufusport and have known each long before they competed in mixed martial arts professionally. Woodley is the reigning UFC welterweight champion, but during a recent appearance on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show Askren made it clear that he won’t fight “The Chosen One” (via Justin Golightly):
“It’s not awkward at all. Tyron and I aren’t fighting. If he breaks his knee and they want me to fight for an interim belt, then I’ll fight but he and I aren’t fighting. I’ve known him since I was 17 years old.”
Askren has been calling out a slew of welterweights including Colby Covington, Darren Till, and future Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre. Askren has even gone as far as to call out UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. It’ll be interesting to see who will welcome Askren to the Octagon. Some think he’s ready to be thrown in with the wolves right away, while others would rather see him be eased into the UFC’s welterweight division.
Do you think Ben Askren or Tyron Woodley would change weight classes?
