It’s well known that UFC president Dana White and former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren have never seen eye-to-eye, but it seems that the two might finally be willing to bury the hatchet.
“Ben Askren hit me up a few months ago and said ‘what are the odds that we can talk about me getting into the UFC?” White said on the UFC Unfiltered podcast this week. “And I said we can absolutely talk about it.”
However, even although Askren is currently retired it seems that he still has ties to his last employer, ONE FC that could stand in the way of a deal being struck.
“And we, I had him, I said you need to send me a letter, before I even talk with you or meet with you or do anything, I need a letter saying you’re a free agent and you’re able to whatever,” White said. “And he’s not a free agent. He’s not a free agent, he’s under contract with One FC and he’s going to have to go fulfill his contract with them before I would even meet with him or talk to him.”
A former Olympic wrestler, the 34-year-old Askren went 18-0 (+1nc) during his MMA career before announcing he was hanging up his gloves late last year, and has long been considered one of the best fighters never to have fought in the UFC.
