The enmity between Ben Askren and the UFC is nothing new. It dates years back, all the way back to a bygone era of mixed martial arts. But considering Askren’s recent push to come out of retirement for a shot at Octagon legend Georges St-Pierre, it’s worth examining where exactly the contentious relationship between the two sides began.
And as far as Askren knows, the problems between he and the UFC first arose in the spring of 2012, when Askren — then Bellator’s undefeated welterweight champion — responded to UFC president Dana White’s claim that a year-round, random drug-testing program would be “impossible” for the UFC to implement.