Ben Askren’s status is one of the most interesting stories in the mixed martial arts world. Since being let go by Bellator the speculation was that he’d land in the UFC, but the UFC — especially Dana White — has been very lukewarm publicly on the idea of bringing Askren on board. Now there are rumors that Askren could be taking a significant step back in terms of visibility and size of promotion.
Related: Ben Askren joins Evolve MMA, is he ONE FC bound?
One of the UFC’s moves with guys like Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson who they’ve felt need to “prove themselves” is to suggest that they need to participate in a season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The question of if he’d be willing to take part in a season of TUF was asked of Askren and he responded about as simply as possible:
It’s hard to blame him. He was champion in the second biggest promotion in the game, so the idea that he should have to participate in a reality show is fairly insulting. But it’s just another extreme like those who are willing to say that Askren would be the top 170 pounder in the UFC if he signed despite a lack of competition against top ten level talent.
it will be interesting to see how the rest of his career plays out and if he will forever remain one of the great “what if?” fighters in MMA history.