Ben Askren Applauds Demetrious Johnson, Rips UFC Tactics
Ben Askren Applauds Demetrious Johnson, Rips UFC Tactics
ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren weighs in on UFC champion Demetrious Johnson's recent rant.
Ben Askren has never been one to hold back from speaking his mind.
The former Bellator champion turned ONE welterweight titleholder has kept fighter's rights front and center throughout his career, and has pushed back against MMA establishments at every turn. And while doing so has won him no fans on the UFC side of the fence, the former Olympian has carried on with his business while beating the drum for better treatment and improved transparency in the dealings between fighter and promoter.
Askren has taken trips to Washington D.C. to lobby for the implementation of the Ali Act in mixed martial arts, and will continue that fight after his days in competition are done. Askren simply wants a level playing field and believes the current landscape of the sport is anything but.
The ONE welterweight king says a recent public rant from UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson further highlights what is wrong with the sport today.
"It was really refreshing to see Demetrious [Johnson] put those guys on blast because they are bad people and they do bad things," Askren told FloCombat. "It was really nice to see Demetrious come out and tell people what happened because that's how they do it. It's almost as if Dana is a little child and throws a f*cking fit when he doesn't get his way. And a lot of those fighters he'll hold it against them for the rest of their lives.
"It was great to see him stand up and not be scared to speak out because here is a guy who has never failed a drug test or never missed weight. Here is a guy who has done everything right and the UFC still gives him that type of treatment. For a fighter that's disconcerting.
"Right before I got on this call I saw a tweet from Jimi Manuwa saying Dana will give him a title shot if he beats some other bum," he added. "I think that's cute he's so naive he still believes what Dana says. That's really cute and it shows me just how naive this guy is because he believes what Dana is telling him."
Askren believes the only remedy for the problems between fighter and promotions will come in the forming of an official fighter's union. While there have been several recent attempts to unionize, and multiple class action lawsuits have been filed, there has yet to be an effort that has gained substantial traction on the fighter side of the sport.
The base of the issue rests with MMA being an individual-based sport, and playing on personal trajectories and ambitions is how promoters have gotten over thus far in Askren's opinion. He believes this needs to come to an end, and remains optimistic a union will form in the near future.
"Unionization is what has to happen," Askren said. "Every fighter looks at it like I am just looking out for myself, but when you look at the overall revenue stream and it's estimated somewhere between eight and thirteen percent goes to athletes and all other major sports it's closer to fifty percent. There are so many underhanded tactics and a lot of people think the locker room bonuses are cool. That's not f*cking cool and it's just another method of being divisive.
"You look at a guy like Demetrious who is a standing champion speaking out about being pressured into things and I know he's not alone. I know for a fact Tyron Woodley was pressured into taking fights he didn't want to take and into doing things he didn't want to do just because that was the way Dana wanted it. Some of these champions need to start standing up and realize it's a collective voice that is really going to make a difference because that's where it really needs to go.
"I mentioned the locker room bonuses before and that's a clear way to control the masses because that's dangled as something you may or may not get as opposed to something that is written into the contract and transparent. That has to change."
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The former Bellator champion turned ONE welterweight titleholder has kept fighter's rights front and center throughout his career, and has pushed back against MMA establishments at every turn. And while doing so has won him no fans on the UFC side of the fence, the former Olympian has carried on with his business while beating the drum for better treatment and improved transparency in the dealings between fighter and promoter.
Askren has taken trips to Washington D.C. to lobby for the implementation of the Ali Act in mixed martial arts, and will continue that fight after his days in competition are done. Askren simply wants a level playing field and believes the current landscape of the sport is anything but.
The ONE welterweight king says a recent public rant from UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson further highlights what is wrong with the sport today.
"It was really refreshing to see Demetrious [Johnson] put those guys on blast because they are bad people and they do bad things," Askren told FloCombat. "It was really nice to see Demetrious come out and tell people what happened because that's how they do it. It's almost as if Dana is a little child and throws a f*cking fit when he doesn't get his way. And a lot of those fighters he'll hold it against them for the rest of their lives.
"It was great to see him stand up and not be scared to speak out because here is a guy who has never failed a drug test or never missed weight. Here is a guy who has done everything right and the UFC still gives him that type of treatment. For a fighter that's disconcerting.
"Right before I got on this call I saw a tweet from Jimi Manuwa saying Dana will give him a title shot if he beats some other bum," he added. "I think that's cute he's so naive he still believes what Dana says. That's really cute and it shows me just how naive this guy is because he believes what Dana is telling him."
Related: Why Demetrious Johnson's Rant Matters
Askren believes the only remedy for the problems between fighter and promotions will come in the forming of an official fighter's union. While there have been several recent attempts to unionize, and multiple class action lawsuits have been filed, there has yet to be an effort that has gained substantial traction on the fighter side of the sport.
The base of the issue rests with MMA being an individual-based sport, and playing on personal trajectories and ambitions is how promoters have gotten over thus far in Askren's opinion. He believes this needs to come to an end, and remains optimistic a union will form in the near future.
"Unionization is what has to happen," Askren said. "Every fighter looks at it like I am just looking out for myself, but when you look at the overall revenue stream and it's estimated somewhere between eight and thirteen percent goes to athletes and all other major sports it's closer to fifty percent. There are so many underhanded tactics and a lot of people think the locker room bonuses are cool. That's not f*cking cool and it's just another method of being divisive.
"You look at a guy like Demetrious who is a standing champion speaking out about being pressured into things and I know he's not alone. I know for a fact Tyron Woodley was pressured into taking fights he didn't want to take and into doing things he didn't want to do just because that was the way Dana wanted it. Some of these champions need to start standing up and realize it's a collective voice that is really going to make a difference because that's where it really needs to go.
"I mentioned the locker room bonuses before and that's a clear way to control the masses because that's dangled as something you may or may not get as opposed to something that is written into the contract and transparent. That has to change."
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