Ben Askren is on a call-out rampage.
Georges St-Pierre, the Diaz brothers, Colby Covington, Darren Till, Jorge Masvidal, Alan Jouban and Khabib Nurmagomedov have all been targeted by the UFC-bound Askren in recent days as the undefeated welterweight looks to dive right into his new job.
Askren is going to be part of a historic trade deal which will see the UFC part ways with their former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in order to prise Askren away from ONE Championship.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters never to have competed in the Octagon, ‘Funky’ intends to cement his legacy by taking out the UFC’s elite while making plenty of money in the autumn of his fighting career.
You might have expected Askren to take aim at former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor for a well-deserved red panty night but the 34-year-old insists that he’s not going to bother calling ‘The Notorious’ out because, according to Askren, McGregor would never agree to a match-up with such a suffocating grappler.
Obviously I have called out @TheNotoriousMMA yet, but you know he has way too much money to take one of the whippings I’m giving out. So why bother?
— Funky (@Benaskren) October 26, 2018
Interestingly, Askren and McGregor had a fiery exchange via Twitter almost four years ago to the day.
After the Irishman was booked against Dennis Siver, Askren claimed that the UFC was protecting McGregor from wrestlers.
Giving @TheNotoriousMMA another easy tune up match against another non wrestler is a really smart move by the UFC!
— Funky (@Benaskren) October 23, 2014
And after McGregor responded with the boast of a payday that he would now find laughable, Askren left him with a warning.
@TheNotoriousMMA try any of the bullshit ninja moves on me I'll throw ya on the ground slap you and tell you to stop with the childs play!
— Funky (@Benaskren) October 23, 2014
McGregor has fought at welterweight before and wants the chance to fight for the UFC’s 170lbs belt before he retires and considering the very real possibility that Askren gets his hands on that title before long, this match-up may end up taking place at some point in the future.
