Dana White says the UFC isn't interested in signing Ben Askren; World Series of Fighting extends Askren an offer

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

It's been a day of surprises in regards to now-former Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren. Bellator announced Thursday morning that they had released the former Olympian, waiving their right to match a contract offer from another organization.

That led many to believe the UFC would then actually make him an offer without having to worry about Bellator attempting to match, but that's not going to be the case. UFC President Dana White said on Thursday after a pre-fight press conference for UFC 167 that the UFC isn't going to offer him a deal at this point, saying he's got work to do still to climb up to the UFC.

"No interest," White said (via MMAFighting.com). "As far as the kid, as far as the level he's on? He barely beat Jay Hieron, you know? He's got some work to do, he can fight in another organization and work his way up and go from there."

Still, White took the moment to criticize Bellator for their treatment of Askren and for not actually trying to re-sign him when he was their Champion.

"They don't want him," White said. "He's their champion and they don't want him. What does that tell you? They don't even care... The fact that they would just give away a guy who was undefeated, it just shows what kind of people you are."

Now, the UFC wasn't Askren's only option in the MMA world, though it is where he'd like to be. But if that's not in the cards, another option could be the World Series of Fighting, and with White showing no interest they've actually already extended an offer to Askren's team.

Penick's Analysis: I get White's criticisms about Askren's spot and past competition level, but he still loses me here. If they don't want to pay Askren some crazy amount, they could offer something in the middle of the pack and allow him to work his way up there. Because White can't make the argument that every welterweight on their roster belongs there over Askren. Now, if Askren were to go to the WSOF, he'd likely be their best welterweight right off the bat, and could move into their next title fight with Steve Carl. A future fight with Jon Fitch could be in line as well, and the UFC could take him from there. However, that's dependent on Askren wanting to take that path.

[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_19233.shtml

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