Bellator’s extreme organizational makeover appears to be continuing on unabated with news earlier today that the company was willing to let their reigning, undefeated welterweight champion, Ben Askren (12-0), depart for the UFC without issue if those were his wishes.
Late last month, Askren completed the final fight on his contract by demolishing Andrey Koreshkov in one of the most one-sided encounters to take place in recent memory. When all was said and done, the final striking numbers for the bout illustrated just how overwhelming the former NCAA Division I wrestling standout and Olympic competitor was in the cage, as Askren out-struck his opponent 248-3.
And now Bellator is seemingly willing to let him walk.
First and foremost, let me say that this sounds awful similar to Bjorn Rebney’s declaration that the company would allow former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez to depart without issue when he completed his contract, only to match the UFC’s initial offer and engage in a protracted lawsuit with the Philadelphia-based Alvarez.
After far too long spent fighting outside of the cage, Alvarez and Bellator settled their differences a couple weeks back, with Alvarez getting the rematch with Michael Chandler that he long coveted, and the organization getting back in business with a fighter who seemed hell-bent on leaving as recently as two months ago, and a whole lot of bad press.
That’s why Rebney’s assertion Wednesday to ESPN’s Josh Gross that the company would willingly allow one of their best fighters — and one of the few fighters on the roster ranking in the top 10 of his respective division — depart without reverting to the same “right to match” tactics that have become their unfortunate signature over the last year and change.
If they really do let Askren walk, they’re doing a disservice to their organization, the welterweight title and the division as a whole, though none of that seems out of the question considering the abrupt change in direction that company has undergone in the last few months.
Bringing in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tito Ortiz and installing them in the main event of the company’s first foray into the world of pay-per-view was an atomic bomb to the idea that Bellator wasn’t going to be a haven for UFC castoffs. The former light-heavyweight champions are still names, but were each let loose by the biggest brand in the business within the last year, when it was painfully obviously that their best days were in the rearview mirror.
Ushering Alvarez into a championship rematch with Chandler was unquestionably the correct decision from a competitive standpoint, but it tears apart the “title shots are earned, not awarded” ethos Rebney and Bellator have clung to from the beginning.
And the idea of letting Askren, a fighter who is one of the three best fighters on the roster, jump ship without batting an eye marks the end of Bellator’s ability to claim they approach MMA in a traditional sporting sense. That just doesn’t happen in real sports, ever.
Which is why I don’t believe Rebney andBellator.
When I first read Rebney’s comments this morning, Admiral Akbar from Return of the Jedi started shouting, “It’s a trap!” over and over in my head. But it feels like such an obvious trap that it seems unlikely that Askren would fall for the ploy. That leaves three possible outcomes, two of which are wholly unappetizing to me:
(1) Askren sits out a year to become an unrestricted free agent.
(2) Bellator matches whatever reasonable offer the UFC puts on the table, and Askren remains the best welterweight competing outside the UFC by a country mile, and keeps crushing the competition in Bellator.
(3) The UFC over-extends like they did with Hector Lombard, doing whatever it takes to get “Funky” under contract and free from Bellator.
Options 1 and 2 are not appealing, simply because a talent like Askren sitting out a year in the midst of his prime is criminal, but so too is his continuing to fight lesser competition than he could be facing in the UFC.
Since I’m not in charge of the UFC purse strings, Option 3 is the one I’m gunning for, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the UFC is hesitant to put too much money on the table, given that things with Lombard haven’t gone as planned, and the Alvarez situation didn’t pan out.
But make no mistake about it: Askren should be in the UFC.
The former University of Missouri standout is a dominant grappler and has been turning up the amount of nastiness he brings to the cage in his last two outings.
There is nothing left for him to accomplish in the Bellator cage, and while he could certainly keep smashing overmatched opponents, bolstering his record and bank account at the same time, Askren is the type of athlete that craves competition, which means testing himself against the deep and talented welterweight ranks in the UFC, even if it means he has to sit out a year in order to do it.
And there would be plenty of options available to him if he were to make the move to the biggest stage in the sport.
While Askren has talked about stepping in for Johny Hendricks against Georges St-Pierre if the challenger gets injured before facing the reigning welterweight champion, moving right into the mix upon his hypothetical arrival would be a certainty.
Askren stepping in against the winner of the rapidly approaching rematch between Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann would be a high profile introduction to the UFC audience fitting of a fighter of the Bellator champion’s stature, and would give him an immediate chance to establish where he sits in the division.
Want to see if Matt Brown is really capable of competing with the best the weight class has to offer? Set him up with a takedown machine like Askren, who gets the advantage of facing an aggressive finisher, and a fighter with serious momentum, most of which has been built on network television.
And a fight between Askren and Rory MacDonald would be a dream pairing to me, as the UFC newcomer’s wrestling would be a serious test for the young Canadian, while the all-around skill set “Ares” brings to the cage would be the stiffest test Askren has faced in his career, by far.
These are the type of fights that should be in Askren’s future — not pairings with unheralded tournament winners and recycled Bellator veterans he’s already dispatched, like Douglas Lima.
Hopefully Bjorn Rebney is a man of his word, and Bellator actually allows Askren to migrate to the UFC without issue, but I wouldn’t count on it.
After all, everything else Rebney was adamant Bellator would never do has been turning into standard business practices. Given their track record, why would anyone think this would be any different?