Ben Askren Blasts ‘Hypocrite’ Kamaru Usman for Avoiding Fight Against Him at UFC 233
As the UFC scrambles to find a worthy main event for UFC 233 on Jan. 26, welterweight contender Ben Askren has apparently emerged as a potential favorite for the headliner — at least according to his call out on social media this week.
The former Bellator and ONE champion took to Instagram to fire off a salvo at top five ranked welterweight Kamaru Usman for not accepting a fight against him at UFC 233.
Just recently, UFC president Dana White hinted that an interim welterweight title could be introduced with current champion Tyron Woodley unable to compete due to an injury. Add to that, Colby Covington has made it clear that he’s only interested in facing Woodley, which left the UFC with limited options for Jan. 26.
Now according to Askren, the UFC has attempted to fill the void by offering him a shot against Usman, but he says the former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner hasn’t accepted yet.
“Mr. Usman, we find ourselves in a situation where you are looking like quite the hypocrite,” Askren said on Instagram. “As we all know, Mr. Tyron Woodley is injured, can’t fight Colby. We know you want to fight Colby. We know Colby’s a scared little bitch, and that’s fine. But I have made my services available to you for a fight on January 26 and now you’re trying to play the same game as Colby is.
“Colby’s ignoring you, now you’re ignoring me.”
Askren is already scheduled to make his Octagon debut against former champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 but it seems like he’s being offered a different opportunity as the promotion searches for a suitable main event.
Meanwhile, Usman is fresh off a five round drubbing of former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and he immediately entered title talk conversation after that fight ended.
Usman revealed last week that the UFC had offered him a fight against Covington for January but he didn’t expect the former All-American wrestler to accept.
Askren is making it clear that he’s more than willing to accept the fight and now he’s just waiting on Usman to respond.
“Listen, I know you hear me because you have a measly little 30,000 Twitter followers, a tiny amount of the social media following that I do,” Askren said. “I know you hear me, Marty, so make sure you respond to this. Don’t be a hypocrite, don’t be a little bitch like Colby. I’ll be there, January 26. I hope you’re there also.”
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