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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Harry Davies

Retired UFC star Ben Askren calls out Nate Diaz for "easy" final fight

Nate Diaz has one fight left on his UFC contract and Ben Askren wants to help the fan favourite see out his current deal.

Diaz - who is yet to re-sign with the promotion - has been pushed for a fight with Dustin Poirier but the UFC has reportedly shelved the matchup for now.

In 2018, Askren made his UFC switch from One Championship in exchange for the promotion's former longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.

He controversially won his promotional debut against veteran Robbie Lawler, but was knocked out in five seconds and choked out in his next fights before retiring from the sport.

But Askren said he would be willing to return to the cage for a one-off fight with Diaz.

Ben Askren retired from MMA in 2019 (MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

“I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and be the last fight in your contract,” Askren told MMA Island.

“That’s it, at the end of day, I’m retired from fighting. I don’t ever want to train full time again, but man, I think every fighter, a little part of you loves fighting, like you love the battle.

“So hey, if [the UFC] were going to give me an easy one [Nate Diaz], I’ll take an easy one. I’ve taken three losses in a row. I’m due for one [easy fight].

'Funky' went unbeaten in over a decade whilst competing in MMA, winning the welterweight title in both Bellator and One Championship.

It's not the first time Askren has called out Diaz for a fight, welcoming him to the clash last November on Twitter.

Askren's call-out came after Diaz said he "sucks" at boxing, with the 37-year-old being knocked out by Jake Paul in just two minutes last March.

"Nate is right, I suck at boxing. He sucks at MMA. If he wants me to prove it I can be in the USADA pool tomorrow. Would be happy to be the last fight on his contract," he wrote.

What are your thoughts on Ben Askren's call out of Nate Diaz? Let us know in the comments section below

Former lightweight title challenger Diaz was also called out for a boxing match by Paul, with the YouTube star mocking the 13 losses on his professional record.

But Diaz played down talks of fighting Paul after his fight with Tyron Woodley last December and even offered to be friends with him.

"I’m a real fighter from the real fight game so don’t trip so hard when you see me fellas let’s just be friends it’s good," he wrote to Paul and his brother Logan.

And with Diaz having several other opponents he could face next, Askren admitted the UFC unlikely to make a fight between them.

“I think that’s probably very unlikely to happen. I’d probably just stay retired," he added.

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