It’s Arguably The First Major Trade Deal In MMA History
Earlier this week it was reported that the UFC and ONE Championship are in talks to trade Demetrious ‘The Mighty Mouse’ Johnson for former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren.
According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, who confirmed the news earlier today that it’s a done deal.
The historic Demetrious Johnson vs. Ben Askren trade is a done deal, multiple sources confirm
The historic Demetrious Johnson vs. Ben Askren trade is a done deal, multiple sources confirm. Full story coming shortly to @espn.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 27, 2018
The UFC officially released the former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson from his recent contract so he can sign with ONE championship.
ONE Championship agreed on the terms and released the Ben Askren from his contract so he can sign with UFC.
According to Helwani, this isn’t only a historic deal, but in rare cases in any sports where both sides involved were happy.
Not only is this trade historic for MMA, it’s one of the rare times in sports where every party involved is happy with the deal. Johnson wanted to sign with ONE; Askren wanted a chance to prove he’s the best in UFC. Their reps/the orgs worked to get it done. Win-win for all.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 27, 2018
Helwani also said, both fighters soon will get a new contract with their new employers UFC and ONE, but aren’t free agents to sign with any other organization.
This deal is really a trade, btw. Both DJ & Askren are expected to get new contracts but for now they are ONE and UFC fighters, respectively. They aren’t free agents who can just sign w/ anyone. It’s as close to a trade as we’ll ever see in MMA. Very complicated but it got done.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 27, 2018
Askren, known as one of the best fighters to never step inside the Octagon. ‘Funky’ is a two-time Division I NCAA wrestling champion with an unbeaten 19 pro- bouts record as well he has won and defended titles in ONE and Bellator. Askren last fought back in November of 2017, where he just needed 57 seconds to TKO Shinya Aoki, in what he said that was my last fight in ONE. But he did mention he may only return to face top names like former welterweight Georges St-Pierre or current UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov.
After the news of trade deal arose, Askren began calling out pretty much all the UFC welterweight division contenders, whom most of them fired back at him.
Not only that he also called out big names like St-Pierre, Nate Diaz, and Khabib Nurmgaomeodov.
Johnson last fought at UFC 227 in August, when Henry Cejudo defeated ‘Mighty Mouse’ via split decision that snapped Johnson’s 13-fight win streak.
