Ben Askren explains what he’d do differently if he was an MMA promoter

As the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight king, and one of the top contenders in the UFC welterweight division, Ben Askren has already accomplished some incredible things as a fighter. But what could he accomplish if he worked on the other side of the hurt business, as a promoter?

He gave us a sense of how he’d handle that role on a recent episode of MMA Junkie Radio. Unsurprisingly, he says he’d work hard to treat the fighters better.

“Honestly, maybe I don’t know the full scope of it, right?” Askren said (transcript via MMA Junkie). “But, I think I could do things better by fighters. I think I could be more honest. I’ve had multiple promoters lie about me. I could be honest and do well by the fighters. I don’t think you have to (expletive) on the fighters all the time in order to have a good promotion.”

Ben Askren believes he’s got the chops to be a fight promoter — and that he might even enjoy the role — yet for the moment, he feels he’s already got too much on the go to even consider it. He is, after all, currently scheduled for a wrestling match with Jordan Burroughs and MMA fight with Jorge Masvidal.

“I think I could do it,” he said of being a fight promoter. “I think part of me would enjoy it, but I also have too many things going in my life that I already enjoy that I don’t know that I would ever go that route.”

Do you think Ben Askren would be a good fight promoter?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/30/2019.