This is huge!
Reports are circulating that the UFC and ONE Championship are in negotiations about a history making trade deal. The likes of which has never been seen before in mixed-martial-arts.
As first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the two promotions are close to striking a deal that will see former welterweight champion Ben Askren finally get a shot inside the UFC Octagon.
Breaking: UFC, ONE Championship close to trade involving Demetrious Johnson and Ben Askren. Potential history in the making for MMA — https://t.co/HllP7dY0of
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 24, 2018
Part of the trade agreement includes the UFC releasing former flyweight kingpin Demetrius ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson from his contract in order to sign with ONE championship.
Trade deals are indeed very common in US sports, but something of this magnitude is totally new to MMA.
Fans of the sport have long wanted to see Ben Askren fight in the UFC stage, however most thought it would never be possible given the issues between himself and Dana White.
The former Bellator champion retired in November 2017 after his first round demolition of Shinya Aoki, but has since teased the idea of a return to the sport, citing that a super fight with Georges St. Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov would interest him.
Earlier this week, Askren took many fans by surprise when he tweeted there was a 98% chance that we would see him sign with the UFC.
— Funky (@Benaskren) October 22, 2018
Demetrius Johnson only recently lost his UFC flyweight belt after a back and forth fight with Henry Cejudo that came down to a razor close decision. He had defended the belt 12 times before that, which is a record within the sport.
‘Mighty Mouse’ is trained by Matt Hume, and it is worth noting that the famed MMA coach is also ONE’s vice president of operations.
The deal is not finalised as of yet, but according to multiple sources it is only a matter of time before both fighter’s make way.
Former UFC lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez signed with ONE last week in a multi-fight contract – that he revealed to Helwani on his MMA show – worth eight figures.
It will be interesting to see what kind of deal Deemtrius Johnson signs, given the fact that his dominance inside the UFC Octagon never really seemed to propel him.
If Johnson does indeed leave, what will happen to the flyweight division? New champion, Cejudo is already talking about moving to bantamweight and has missed the 125lb limit in the passed.
Dana White has notoriously struggled to promote the organisation’s lightest weight class, and if Johnson jumps ship, it could signal the end of the division.
