Luis Santos: 'Coward' Ben Askren is a rat who was looking for a hole to hide in

Ben Askren and Luis Santos

Luis Santos had the opportunity to get revenge against Ben Askren with a planned rematch at ONE Championship 32, but after missing weight, that opportunity went out the window.

Santos (61-9-1) weighed in at 172 to challenge for Askren’s (14-0) welterweight title, two pounds over the allowed limit. The bout immediately became a non-title fight, but Askren also set the stipulation that a second weigh-in would have to take place the day of the bout with neither man allowed to weigh in over 190 pounds.

The challenger refused to agree to those terms – a situation that ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui called “one of the most unprofessional things I’ve ever seen from a fighter” – and is now calling Askren out for not wanting to fight, and the promotion for allowing Askren to dictate terms.

“I don’t understand how a large organization such as ONE Championship leaves decisions in the hands of their athletes,” Santos told MMAjunkie. “I believe the organization could have issued a monetary fine against me, and gone ahead with a non-title bout.

“My opponent is a rat and he was looking for a hole to hide in. He used my weight as an excuse not to fight. I believe he was afraid. He demanded that I accept his stipulations. Then he ran to the press to talk crap about me. It’s his style. I told him if he wanted to fight me, then I shouldn’t have to continue cutting weight. Since the belt was no longer on the line, it didn’t make sense for me to sacrifice myself. What I don’t understand is how such a large organization is held hostage by a fighter. They should have told him to fight me.”

Askren and Santos fought to a no-contest at ONE Championship 26 in April. Santos had some early success dealing with Askren’s wrestling, but an accidental eye-poke from Askren brought the bout to an end at the 2:19 mark of Round 1. Askren told MMAjunkie that he felt Santos “played up” the eye poke because he was tiring.

Neither man was comfortable with the way the first fight played out, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the rematch, which was set to take place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on Nov. 13.

Obviously, neither man feels better about the rivalry after the weigh-in debacle. Askren initially took to Twitter to express his frustration.

For his part, Santos said the rematch being canceled twice was the primary reason he struggled to make weight.

“I flew 24 hours from my home to Asia so I could fight him,” Santos said. “The most difficult part of making weight was how little time I had. This fight was canceled twice, in September and October, and I had been shedding weight that entire time. The fight was moved ahead by a whole two months. It’s difficult to make weight that way.”

Cui said that the ONE Championship staff was “completely disgusted” with Santos’ lack of professionalism. The reaction from his promoter doesn’t seem to bother Santos much, however.

“I know Victor can have an explosive temper sometimes,” Santos said. “He must have been angry over what happened. Even I would be angry in his place. But the fight could have gone ahead. Askren is a rat, a coward. He doesn’t respect anyone. I may have failed to reach my weight, but he failed even more by deciding he wouldn’t fight at all. Then he runs to the media and claims I didn’t accept his terms. How can I accept his terms? I’m not employed by him. My ultimate goal is the belt. It’s not to beat him, specifically. He’s just another body I have to beat. ”

For more on ONE Championship 32, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.