Ben Askren creates ‘Death List’ of five opponents he wants to fight in UFC
Ever since the UFC and ONE Championship agreed to the historic trade that sent Demetrious Johnson to ONE and Ben Askren to the UFC, the latter has been calling out almost everyone.
Askren is expected to face a top-five welterweight in his debut according to UFC President Dana White. Who that will be or when he will debut, however, remains a mystery.
In the meantime, Ben Askren has been trash-talking on Twitter to the likes of Colby Covington, Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal among others. While they would all be tough matchups for the undefeated fighter, Askren has now created a list of the fighters he wants to fight inside the Octagon.
— Funky (@Benaskren) November 3, 2018
His so-called “death list”, which also explains why he wants each opponent, is as follows:
- Colby Covington: Low IQ
- Stephen Thompson: Karate doesn’t work on me
- Darren Till: Immature Englishman
- Nick and Nate Diaz: Too much weed
- Khabib Nurmagomedov: I’m just too ‘effing good.
Out of all the fights that Askren mentions on this list, the most likely would seem to be against Till.
Covington will most likely fight the champion Tyron Woodley for the title, while it has been reported Thompson could fight Robbie Lawler in early 2019. As for the other three, both the Diaz brothers seem unlikely to fight at present, and Nurmagomedov is currently suspended by the NSAC. Meaning, the lightweight champion’s future is uncertain. Till, meanwhile, is coming off of a loss to Woodley at UFC 228 and has no upcoming fight. However, Till has stated he wants to move up to middleweight, which would throw a wrench in Askren’s plan.
A notable name missing from Ben Askren’s list is Georges St-Pierre. Askren has been calling out the legend for years now. A possible reason why he was left off the list is because no one truly knows if GSP will return to the Octagon and if Askren is enough to get him out of retirement.
Ultimately, Askren has options for his first UFC fight, and who it will be is up to the UFC’s matchmakers.
What do you think of this list from Ben Askren?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/3/2018
