Ben Askren calls Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman ‘idiots’ for passing up UFC 244 main event
- ‘They just lost the main event spot at Madison Square Garden which is going to be a gigantic card. They just missed an opportunity’
- ‘Colby, you’re not worth that much money … and no one gives a damn about watching you fight, Marty’
Ben Askren has called Colby Covington and UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman “idiots” for passing up the main event at Madison Square Garden.
That slot on November 2 at UFC 244 has instead gone to Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz – who will fight for the “BMF” belt.
The UFC decided to move on to that fight after negotiations with former interim welterweight champion Covington and “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman stalled.
“These guys are idiots. Covington and Kamaru can’t get it right,” Askren said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “Colby says ‘I want a whole bunch of money’. Colby, you’re not worth that much money.
“I’m all about fighters’ rights, I do think MMA fighters should be paid more. But … Colby shoots it way out of the ballpark, they say, ‘Yeah right dude, get lost, you’re not worth close to that much’. He is not nearly as popular as he thinks.
“And then they say, ‘we’re bringing Jorge in here’. Then Marty [Usman] says, ‘Well, if I’m fighting Jorge, I want more money’. Then they say no one gives a damn about watching you fight Marty, get outta here.
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“Then they made Jorge and Nate the main event, which, you know what, people are excited about that. It’s not for a title. I don’t like Jorge, but I’ll give credit where credit’s due. People care about him.”
Covington slammed the UFC for their “hostage negotiations” but Askren said he and Usman simply overplayed their hands.
“There are a few people in this business that people care about without you fighting frequently. Not a lot. There really isn’t, there’s only a couple. And neither one of those two guys has the personality to do that,” Askren said.
“So they just lost the main event spot at Madison Square Garden which is going to be a gigantic card. They just missed an opportunity for themselves. The UFC always holds the cards.
“A lot of people in this sport, they don’t look at the whole playing field. They only look at what’s in front of them and they listen to some of their dumb dumbs on the side saying they’re worth a lot more than they are.”
