Ben Askren thinks Kamaru Usman getting a title shot would be UFC playing favorites.
Former champion Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) is 1-3 in his past four fights, where he recently snapped his losing skid with a win over Joaquin Buckley in June.
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UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) likes the idea of defending his belt against Usman first, but with a plethora of fresh contenders in the division, Askren disagrees.
“I know I’ve had issues with him, so I don’t want to sound biased, but I really don’t (think he deserves it),” Askren told Helen Yee of Usman. “He obviously was a champion for a long time, but it’s been a little bit, and he’s had a few losses more recently. The welterweight belt has changed hands a whole bunch of times. … It’s not like he lost to the last guy and now he’s getting a rematch or something.”
Ian Machado Garry is coming off back-to-back wins over Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad, and that’s who Askren sees as most deserving.
“I feel like the newer guys at welterweight have done enough to justify title shots for themselves,” Askren said. “I know the favorites card gets played sometimes in MMA with Dana (White). Paddy (Pimblett) gets the title shot and maybe he doesn’t totally deserve it. I like to see when the guys earn it, and I don’t love Ian Garry, but I think he really has earned it. So I think it’s going to be interesting to see how those younger guys do in the next couple of years.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ben Askren reveals who deserves UFC title shot over Kamaru Usman
