Kevin Lee Calls Ben Askren “Real Life Troll”

Kevin Lee calls out Ben Askren for the way he presents himself to the fans and media.

While attending last week’s UFC Seasonal Press Conference in Atlanta, the two fighters exchanged words that could lead to a fight down the road. For right now, both UFC stars have separate fights booked.

First up is Lee, who is set to move up to welterweight and fight former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 9 on May 18th. On the flip side, Askren is expected to face Jorge Masvidal on July 6th at the UFC 239 pay-per-view event.

While talking with MMA Junkie, Lee broke down his belief about Askren. This is where he noted that he can find some appreciation in what Askren does. He considers it to be troll-like behavior from Askren.

“He’s just speaking louder than the person next to him,” Lee said. “And if that’s his truth, and that’s what he sees, then how can I hate? It makes it more fun for me, really.

“I don’t see why people even turn down and back down from them type challenges. I kind of like a little bit of back-and-forth. And I want to see what you’ve got to say, too. If dos Anjos could do it – the man speaks fluent English. He’s going to act like he don’t, but he could. But some people, if that ain’t you, that ain’t you. But you can tell that’s Ben Askren, when he do that. He’s a troll, like in real life. That’s really what he do. So I don’t expect nothing different from him.”