Ben Askren (photo via ONE FC)

By FCF Staff

Dana White and Ben Askren have battled verbally in the past, and due to recent comments the UFC President’s made, that will likely continue.

White recently appeared on the Canadian sports program, “Off the Record“, and was asked whether he likes Askren or not. White proceeded to say:

“I don’t hate him… 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 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.”

Last fall, Bellator elected to not re-sign Askren, despite the fact the decorated wrestler was the promotion’s reigning, welterweight champ. The 30 year-old Askren talked publicly about his desire to fight for the UFC, but in November, 2013, White relayed the promotion was not interested in signing him. The UFC President cited Askren’s decision win over Jay Hieron as evidence that the undefeated fighter still had “work to do.”

Askren ended up signing with ONE FC, and has gone on to win both of his bouts with the promotion and its welterweight title. Since he signed with the Asian based promotion, the welterweight has also been heavily critical of White, and has argued the Zuffa exec doesn’t care about the promotion’s fighters.

Askren currently carries a record of 14-0, and is widely considered to be one of the best welterweights on the planet. The fighter, who has been criticized in the past for not finishing fights, has stopped four straight opponents.