He wasn’t in the arena at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday, but UFC president Dana White admired the UFC on ESPN+ 20 headliner from afar.
In an interview with “The Schmo,” White had nothing but good things to say about Ben Askren (19-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) after his main event loss to Demian Maia (28-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC). White dismissed any notion he dislikes Askren and praised what he has brought to the organization since he joined 11 months ago.
“People always think there’s some type of animosity between us and I get excited if he doesn’t win a fight or whatever,” White said. “I like Ben Askren. I like what Ben Askren has brought to the UFC in the three fights that he’s been here, and we’ll see what’s next for him.”
Despite Askren’s losing record with the promotion, White doesn’t regret the November 2018 trade with ONE Championship. In an unprecedented move, the UFC sent former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to ONE in exchange for former Bellator and ONE champ Askren, who had been retired.
Tuesday, the UFC president even gave Askren partial credit for helping mold Saturday’s UFC 244 headliner between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz into the “BMF” mega-fight it has become. Masvidal’s popularity skyrocketed after he picked up the fastest knockout in UFC history against Askren in July.
“No regrets, whatsoever,” White said, of the trade. “That fight was incredible over the weekend. Loved that fight. Fun fight to watch. Ben brought a lot of hype to the UFC. People were excited about him coming in and fighting and seeing what he could do.
“The fight with Ben and Masvidal was what built Masvidal into what he is right now and going into this weekend. Without Askren, that doesn’t happen.”
