Ben Askren Says UFC’s “Hand Was Forced” To Sign Him

Several years ago, the UFC and Ben Askren nearly agreed to a contract to make the welterweight great a part of the promotion. However, somewhere along the road, those talks fizzled out. Askren temporarily retired after his stint with ONE Championship, however, the UFC then pulled off a blockbuster trade for “Funky.”

The UFC sent former flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson to the Singapore-based promotion in exchange for Askren. Now, after having signed Askren to the UFC, the undefeated welterweight awaits the announcement of his first UFC contest. Speaking as a guest fighter at UFC 230 over the weekend (Sat. November 3, 2018), Askren talked about the process to get to the UFC.

In regards to why the UFC finally pulled the trigger on getting him to the promotion, Askren says he believes the company’s “hand was forced”:

“I think what happened now was their hand was forced,” Askren said. “When people very high up with a lot of push and a lot of followers are saying things that aren’t true about me, you can get a certain version of me.

“When you get me talking for two hours, you realize this is a normal, likable, hard-working guy. There’s really not much to dislike about this guy. And that’s what people saw. People saw that side of me, and then there was this push.”