Ben Askren Destroys Usman & Covington For Ducking Him
New UFC welterweight Ben Askren recently offered to save UFC 233 by filling in the main event slot.
He had several opponents in mind, including top contenders Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman. However, neither one wanted to fight him on short notice. Usman has claimed he already signed a bout agreement to fight champion Tyron Woodley. That’s the fight Covington is holding out for as well.
Askren voiced his frustration with both fighters to reporters via MMAjunkie at last night’s UFC on FOX 31 from Milwaukee. He insists both Usman and Covington are ‘scared’ to fight him:
“I volunteered to fight Colby, I volunteered to fight Usman, and they’re so scared.”
Askren is now set to face former champion Robbie Lawler at March 2’s UFC 235 from Las Vegas, Nevada. He’s talked a little bit of smack about ‘Ruthless,’ yet Usman and Covington are his main targets. He went off on Usman’s supposedly hypocritical stance:
“Usman is the ultimate hypocrite, and he’s so dumb, he can’t even put his sentences together,” Askren said. “He’s like, ‘I’m not a hypocrite. I said earn your shot.’ Well, no, that’s exactly why I said you’re a hypocrite because that’s literally what Colby said to you. And then they pretend they don’t hear me.”
Smaller Following
Askren pointed out that both Usman and Covington have smaller social media followings than he does despite them being in the UFC for far longer:
“Despite the fact that they’ve been in the UFC for four or five years, despite the fact that Colby won an interim and Usman’s pushing, their social media followings are still miniscule compared to mine,” Askren said. “Despite Colby running his stupid-ass (“Make America Great Again”) gimmick, despite Marty from Nebraska trying to act like he’s Kamaru.
Askren closed by reiterating that he tried to fight both “uninteresting” fighters and save UFC 233 in Anaheim, but they turned him down:
“And so they’re just uninteresting people. So I volunteered to figh
