UFC's Dana White doesn't hate Ben Askren, but 'he doesn't want to fight in the big show'

Ben Askren

He’s the highest-ranked welterweight not in the UFC, and according to company president Dana White, it’s likely to stay that way.

ONE FC welterweight champion Ben Askren has made no secret of his disdain for the UFC executive, who suggested the former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and Olympian is content outside the UFC octagon.

During a “Like ‘em or don’t like ‘em” segment Tuesday on TSN’s OTR, White was asked about the fighter.

“Ben Askren, I don’t hate him,” White said. “Let me tell you. I’m going to tell you this. He signed with somebody else. The guy signed with somebody else out in Asia. He’s fighting. He’s got a contract.

“The thing is with Ben Askren, I’ve talked to some people that are closer to Ben Askren than me, and they have told me straight up that they truly believe that he doesn’t want to fight in the big show, and that’s why he does the things that he does. True or not, I don’t know, but that’s the story.”

Askren (14-0), a former Bellator welterweight champion who’s undefeated in his MMA career, read the comments on Twitter and offered a simple response (via Twitter):

Back in August, White suggested Askren could eventually fight in the UFC, but the fighter quickly joked about the possibility and seem uninterested.

Askren, ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, recently scored a TKO victory over Nobutatsu Suzuki to claim the ONE FC 170-pound title. Although once criticized for a lack of finishes, the ground-and-pounder has stopped his past four opponents, including Bellator vets Andrey Koreshkov and Karl Amoussou.

For more on the UFC’s and ONE FC’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.