Bjorn Rebney says he has released Bellator champ Ben Askren, is he UFC bound?

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2013/11/14/5103578/bjorn-rebney-releases-bellator-champ-ben-askren-ufc

Bjorn Rebney says he has released Bellator champ Ben Askren, is he UFC bound?

By [url=http://www.sbnation.com/users/Anton Tabuena]Anton Tabuena[/url] @antontabuena on Nov 14 2013, 9:59a

According to Bellator's Bjorn Rebney, he has released Ben Askren, making him free to sign wherever he pleases.

It looks like Bellator will be able to avoid the whole mess they had with Eddie Alvarez before as they currently deal with Ben Askren's contact situation and impending free agency. Bjorn Rebney has said that they have decided to release their current welterweight champion, making him free to sign where he pleases. He took to twitter to announce the news:

Bjorn Rebney        ✔ @BjornRebney Follow
I've made the decision to release Ben Askren. After speaking with Ben, it was clear it was a good time for both parties to move on.
6:11 AM - 14 Nov 2013

Bjorn Rebney        ✔ @BjornRebney Follow
We've relinquished any right to match and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with. I wish Ben the best wherever he goes.
6:12 AM - 14 Nov 2013

The talented wrestler in Askren last defended his Bellator title in July, but has recently kept active when he dusted off his wrestling shoes and competed on Agon I, winning a wrestling super-fight against two-time NCAA wrestling champ Quentin Wright.

As for where he will sign, Askren has been constantly calling out Georges St. Pierre on twitter, and he has again made it clear where he wants to compete:

Ben Askren @Benaskren Follow
I am now free to go to the @UFC and beat whoever I want.
6:39 AM - 14 Nov 2013


The fight always seemed like a farfetched idea with both champs being locked in restrictive contracts, but with this announcement from Rebney, this could be a step closer towards that possibility.

I  get the feeling they just don;t like doing business with Ben in general, even if he is a great fighter.  Them doing this gives Ben freedom, but I think it also means a much smaller payday for Askren in the end.

Ultimately, I think it is a decent PR move by BFC not to go into a bidding war with the UFC over this fighter, Ben is not worth it in the big picture imo.

Lol how many more fights does Lima have before Bjorn starts claiming he's the best WW in the world even though Ben dummied him like a kid

Sometimes it's not about having the most exciting fighters in your company but having the best. It makes your company more legit. This is a big blow for Bellator.

Surprised they waived matching rights but i didnt see them going all out to sign him like they did with Eddie.

He's not as big a loss as Lombard even if he might be a better fighter. Bellator didnt end up missing Hector at all really. Ben just didnt bring that much to the table business wise and unlike the other Bellator champs..nobody ever gave him any credit. People get very excited about guys like Pat Curran, Michael Chandler, and even Shlemenko and start lumping them in among the best out there. Ben Askren was the most dominant champ Bellator has had and nobody was shooting him up the rankings or mentioning him among the elite. He's dominated some pretty good fighters as well and is arguably the best out there in the most important base in American MMA. You can talk about "Bellator should have kept him because of his status" but his status is someone people just squeak into their top 10, if at all, despite everything. My guess is Bellator won't miss him and doesnt matter that he dominated Douglas Lima in the big picture because nobody was watching when that fight happened.

Bellator still has a long way to go..There was a time the UFC put the bottom line before the champs as well..they had to let some walk.

Bellator won't miss him. He's as boring a fighter as there is in MMA and he and his representatives talk like tedious morons.

Hopefully he gets sparked out clean in his UFC debut and we won't have to hear from him again until he has a more rounded game, some humility and a proper haircut.

Dana said he has no interest in signing Ben, WSOF has offered him a contract.

There are so many more boring fighters than Askren. The way this guy dummied Koreshkov was a thing of beauty. Sounds to me like the UFC isn't interested in playing Bellator's games here. There are some decent WSOF fights in the meantime

What game? BFC washed their hands of him. If anything the UFC can low ball the fuck out of Ben now.

Have one of their guys who Bjorn is taking shots at on his way out the door come over and win fights. Hopefully after some time passes he'll be on his way in