Ben Askren vows to put a ‘big brothering’ on Khabib Nurmagomedov after ‘levels’ comment

Ben Askren and Khabib Nurmagomedov aren’t going to be sharing a meal anytime soon.

With his long-awaited Octagon debut looming on March 2 against Robbie Lawler at UFC 235, Askren has been firing off social media shots at a variety of targets in recent months throughout the UFC’s ranks. Some of those shots have been directed at Nurmagomedov, the promotion’s undefeated lightweight champion.

In a recent video posted by Submission Radio, Nurmagomedov was asked about Askren and a potential showdown against the former Bellator and ONE titleholder — and to say the Dagestani star was dismissive of Askren would be an understatement.

“He never fight in the UFC,” Nurmagomedov said of Askren. “He has to fight in the UFC first of all. He has to show his levels, because I see how someone smash him in ONE FC. Somebody like smashed him in ONE FC. He just signed to the UFC and tried talk, you know.

“But now everybody tries to talk and promote these things, but you have to compete in the UFC, then we’re gonna see his levels.”

With an Olympic wrestling background and flair for the dramatic, Askren (18-0, 1 NC) has dominated his competition throughout his 10-year mixed martial arts career, outclassing the likes of Douglas Lima, Shinya Aoki, and Andrey Koreshkov while establishing himself as one of the most talented fighters outside of the UFC.

Now Askren is under UFC contract and readying for a big 2019 campaign — and it didn’t take long for him to respond to Nurmagomedov (27-0) and issue a challenge to the lightweight champion for later in the year.