Coach Duke Roufus has long been a supporter of Ben Askren joining the UFC, and despite the fact the undefeated welterweight veteran is technically retired from MMA, he’d “love” to see it happen.

That desire stems from a few factors. One of them, Roufus explained, is how positively the success of the Olympian and former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion reflects on his beloved wrestling community. But financially, too, he understands what a good deal in the octagon could mean to Askren and his family.

“I do see the rewards that Tyron Woodley (who also trains at Roufusport) reaps as the UFC champion,” Roufus told MMAjunkie Radio. “There are more zeros there than being the Bellator champion. No disrespect to Bellator. They pay well too. It’s just the UFC pays the best when you’re on top. I don’t know the (ONE Championship) numbers.”

Which is not to say Roufus doesn’t understand the roadblocks that have stood in the way of the deal happening in the past.

That, of course, is a well-documented saga. Askren (18-0), who was a Bellator champion from 2010-2013, had attempts at coming to terms with the UFC, but he said the negotiations were so “dirty” that, instead of a deal, he walked away with “a bad taste in my mouth.” Askren went on to sign with ONE Championship and became an outspoken critic of the UFC’s business practices.

Roufus is not “on the management side” but maintains a good relationship with both “dear friend” and Bellator President Scott Coker and UFC President Dana White. And when it comes to the Askren debacle, he can see where each party is coming from.

“The problem is, when it comes to promoting these big fights, it’s all about footage,” Roufus said. “If you don’t have footage on a fighter, it’s very hard to create a pay-per-view buy. I think, at first, the UFC had persuaded Ben to go into the World Series of Fighting (WSOF, which has re-branded as PFL) for a few fights so they could use footage and make the fight happen. That was my understanding of it.

“But Ben chose to take more money in (ONE Championship). And you can’t fault a man; you never know when your last fight is going to be your last fight. So it’s been a tough situation.”

From Bellator, Askren went to Asia’s ONE Championship – where he went on to take the 170-pound belt in 2014 and defend it until 2017. Then this past November, after his fourth title defense, the 33-year-old unbeaten vet confirmed he had retired from MMA.

Askren hasn’t fought since, but the retirement hasn’t seemed all that final. Once careful in how he addressed the possibility of a long-desired meeting with former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, for instance, Askren seemed optimistic about it while speaking to MMAjunkie Radio earlier this year.

Not to mention, the (somewhat polite) barbs traded with UFC vet and Bellator champion Rory MacDonald on Twitter.

While on the one hand the idea of signing an unbeaten steamroller of a fighter in Askren would seem like a no-brainer for big promotions, there’s one argument that’s always been used against the welterweight: His wrestling-heavy style can make for the type of fight that doesn’t typically lead to barnburners in the cage.

But Roufus, originally a striker who’s been immersed in MMA since 2004, has a few responses to that. First off, while it’s easy to throw words like “boring” around, one must keep in mind that these are people who depend on what happens in that cage to make a living.

“It’s called prizefighting: When you put a big prize on the line, a lot of fighters are going to do what it takes to win,” Roufus said. “Not what it takes to make the ‘Let’s bleed’ crowd happy – (though) I love those fans too. When we’re having a great night, if the ‘Showtime kick’ is there, it’s there. (But) sometimes, it’s just winning.”

Looking around the current MMA landscape, though, the coach sees reasons to feel optimistic about Askren’s place in the sport. After all, while he appreciates an exciting scrap as much as the next guy, there’s something to be said for simply being good and beating people.

“(UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov), to me, has a vey similar style to Ben Askren,” Roufus said. “The optimistic thing about it for Ben is, if we’re going to promote fighters like Khabib, even (Kamaru Usman), who are similar but different – he’s not subbing people, and he’s not knocking out people. Then there’s room for Ben Askren, as well.

“There are other guys who do what Ben does. I think Ben does it the best. Even Tyron caught some heat about his three fights in a row, for being boring. But everyone who fights Demian Maia, his fights are boring. Because you’re so worried about such a special style. He’s that snake you can’t dance around a lot. Because he slithers up on you, you get stung by Demian.

“And then (Stephen Thompson) – his style is so elusive that it creates for interesting fights that we saw with the (Darren) Till fight. So I think people are starting to see the forest through the trees, if you will.”

And if fighting alone won’t do it for you, Roufus sees other ways in which Askren can be a valuable contribution for a sport that, at the end of the day, still carries a lot of entertainment elements.

“We’re praising Colby (Covington) for – he’s vocal, and he’s doing good stuff,” Roufus said. “I believe that Ben is very good at that. He’s a funny, intelligent guy. Not saying that Colby isn’t either. Everyone’s got a different angle, especially the guys who want to become the real wrestler, if you will, meaning WWE style. Ben is cheeky. He’s funny. He’s a great ball-buster.

“There’s entertainment in different forms in this industry. I would love to see Ben in there.”

For more on the UFC schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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