Ben Askren, Scott Coker clash over possible Bellator deal

Ben AskrenIt sounds like Ben Askren was recently in talks to make a return to Bellator. The question is under what circumstances.

In an interview with The Fight Guys podcast that was picked up by BJPenn.com, Bellator president Scott Coker mentioned that there were talks to co-promote with Askren’s then-employers ONE Championship (Askren has since been traded to the UFC) with the hopes that Askren could compete in Bellator’s eight-man Welterweight Grand Prix.

Askren responded to the story on Twitter, saying that he was only interested in fighting current Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald and suggesting that the promotion’s refusal to book that matchup meant it was a non-starter on…