Ben Askren taunts Nick Diaz
Ben Askren isn’t in a major American promotion, but that hasn’t stopped him from making a lot of noise. This time, he directed it at former Strikeforce champion, Nick Diaz.
While appearing on the MMA Roasted podcast, Askren was asked about the possibility of fighting Diaz. Askren didn’t shy away.
“Diaz, man he ain’t even fighting no more, why would I talk about me against someone who’s retired? Well, if Nick Diaz can stay off the pipe, maybe I’ll fight him. He’s like taking down a wet paper bag. I don’t think I’d have much trouble. He’d probably be flipping me off and shit, but I’ll just smile at him,” Askren said on the podcast.
To Askren’s credit, Diaz has proven extremely susceptible to being taken down. Prior to his fight with Georges St-Pierre, Diaz had seemingly avoided wrestlers altogether, being matched up with strikers exclusively.
After a dominant run as Bellator Welterweight champion, the unbeaten Askren was released from his contract to explore other endeavors. However, his attempts to get into the UFC were unsuccessful, which left many confused. After UFC president Dana White suggested Askren sign with World Series of Fighting, Askren instead signed with Asian promotion One FC, and continued to harass the promotion about the quality of lower-card welterweights.
With the new regime in effect at Bellator, it remains to be seen as to how UFC will react to signing former prominent Bellator talent. In the past year or so, the company has signed former Bellator champion Zach Makovsky and prominent female fighter Jessica Eye