Ben Askren: If Nick Diaz Can Stay Off The Pipe, Maybe I’ll Fight Him
It’s been well over a year since UFC veteran and former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz competed in the Octagon. Losing a one-sided decision to legendary champion Georges St. Pierre in the main event of UFC 158, Diaz failed to back up the massive amount of trash talk he used to earn a lucrative payday.
The Stockton bad boy subsequently retired, and while he’s been seen here and there, he’s mostly waiting for another big payday. He won’t come out of retirement for anything less than $500,000, and his rumored 2015 bout against Anderson Silva could bring him all that and more. Diaz has already started the trash talk, and UFC President Dana White has not surprisingly signed on.
There’s not much doubt that’s a fight that most MMA fans want to see, but recently Diaz received a challenge from a fighter who probably no one wants to see him fight. Former Bellator 170-pound champion and ONE FC competitor Ben Askren spoke up to FOX Sports’ MMA Roasted to give his take on the currently inactive trash talker:
“Diaz, man he ain’t even fighting no more, why would I talk about me against someone who’s retired? Well, if Nick Diaz can stay off the pipe, maybe I’ll fight him. He’s like taking down a wet paper bag. I don’t think I’d have much trouble. He’d probably be flipping me off and shit, but I’ll just smile at him.”
Askren, who most recently extended his fight-finishing streak to three with a first round submission of Bakhtiyar Abbasov last month, is never afraid to run his mouth. But with Bellator actually allowing him to leave as champion due to his wrestling-heavy fighting style that many deem boring, does anyone really care what he has to say?
The UFC didn’t want to sign him, and he’s not going to get a fight with Diaz plying his trade in ONE FC.
But even if he was still in Bellator, there’s hardly any chance a fight with Diaz would be come a reality for him. “Funky” would most likely take Diaz down and hold him there for the duration of the fight, resulting in a disappointing match-up similar to “GSP” vs. Diaz.
If the popular heel does return to the cage, it will no doubt be to face off a against a big name striker like Silva, who has a huge name that will get Diaz the green he wants (money, that is). Will he ever quit smoking the other kind to climb back in the Octagon?
