Ben Askren accuses Kamaru Usman of acting just like Colby Covington

Kamaru Usman has been angling for a fight with Colby Covington for some time, admitting that he might even prefer the matchup to a fight with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Unfortunately for Usman, Covington is likely to battle Woodley next, which means Usman will have to look elsewhere for his next opponent. Former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren is hoping to make that search easy for him.

Askren, who is currently booked to fight Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 on January 26, recently offered to battle Usman on the card instead.

I know @ColbyCovMMA is a little bitch, but I know a guy who isn’t ☝️ https://t.co/b1QwNvvKqP

— Funky (@Benaskren) December 7, 2018

“I know [Colby Covington is a little bitch, but I know a guy who isn’t,” Askren said in a Tweet directed at Usman.

Initially, it sounded as though Kamaru Usman and his team were up for this challenge, as his manager Ali Abdelaziz said they’d accept the fight if it’s for an interim title.

If @Benaskren wants to fight @USMAN84kg for an interim belt you got it buddy we in ufc has good health insurance

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) December 7, 2018

‘If [Ben Askren] wants to fight [Kamaru Usman] for an interim belt, you got it buddy, we in. UFC has good health insurance.”

Evidently, however, Ben Askren is growing impatient of waiting for Usman to accept this fight.

Speaking on Instagram on Sunday, the former Bellator and ONE champ called Usman out and said he’s acting just like Colby Covington by avoiding this challenge.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrJi2GHl-SQ/

“Mr. Usman, we find ourselves in a situation where you are looking like quite the hypocrite,” Askren said in his post (transcript via MMA Fighting). “As we all know, Mr. Tyron Woodley is injured, can’t fight Colby. We know you want to fight Colby. We know Colby’s a scared little b*tch, and that’s fine. But I have made my services available to you for a fight on January 26 and now you’re trying to play the same game as Colby is. Colby’s ignoring you, now you’re ignoring me.”

“Listen, I know you hear me because you have a measly little 30,000 Twitter followers, a tiny amount of the social media following that I do,” Askren said. “I know you hear me, Marty, so make sure you respond to this. Don’t be a hypocrite, don’t be a little b*tch like Colby. I’ll be there, January 26. I hope you’re there also.”

Do you want to see Kamaru Usman and Ben Askren fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/10/2018.