Ben Askren has an opponent…
After all his call outs and his insults, it turns out his first opponent inside the UFC Octagon will be one of the few welterweights he failed to mention throughout his tirade.
As first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Askren’s first opponent under the UFC banner looks set to be “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 in January.
Breaking: Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler targeted for UFC 233 on Jan. 26 in Anaheim, per Dana White. Contracts are not signed yet from what I'm told, but UFC is working on getting it finalized. Story up soon on @ESPN.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 6, 2018
Askren surprised everybody by signing with the UFC last week in a trade deal with ONE Championship that sees Demetrius Johnson go in the opposite direction.
He took no time in calling out literally everybody in the welterweight division including; the Diaz brothers, Colby Covington and Georges St. Pierre.
Lots of welterweights breathing easy right about now. Don’t worry your times will come! https://t.co/8xDJwIC7VZ
— Funky (@Benaskren) November 6, 2018
Robbie Lawler has not fought since UFC on FOX 26 last December when he dropped a unanimous decision loss to Rafael Dos Anjos. Lawler suffered an ACL tear in the fight and has been on the sidelines ever since.
Ben Askren’s last fight was in November 2017 when he defended his World title against Shinya Aoki. A fight that was supposed to be his retirement bout.
So, both fighters are returning from lengthy lay offs to face each other in the UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2019. UFC 233 will take place on January 26 at the Honda Center in Anaheim California.
What a way to start 2019!
