It seems that former Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren was in negotiations with Bellator before he joined the UFC recently, but the star and Bellator CEO Scott Coker have engaged in a public disagreement over exactly how it all went down.
It all began with Coker suggested to BJPenn.com that Askren had been offered the chance to fight in Bellator’s welterweight grand-prix.
Askren then responded on Twitter saying that wasn’t quite true.
“Well this is about a half truth from @ScottCoker I wanted to fight Rory,” Askren wrote. “He said no. Simple.”
Coker then fired back with a different version of their conversation.
“I know you’re used to people not responding to you, but the truth is you & your team were only interested in a one-fight deal & when we asked Bob Cook if you would fight in the Welterweight Grand Prix on a three fight deal – you didn’t want to do it,” Coker stated.
“Scott so what about my tweet was false?” Askren responded.
“We would have given you @rory_macdonald to start the grand prix & you didn’t want to do it,” Coker replied.
“Which is fine, I just want to make sure the facts are straight, don’t spin it like Rory & I were ducking you. You chose not to enter the tournament.”
Askren has since indicated he feels Coker is bending the truth.
“I think you are pushing alternative facts here. I can go back and look through old messages/emails, but this sure isn’t the way I recall it. You and I both know Rory vs me looks very similar to Rory vs Gerard.”
