Ben Askren cites UFC contract issues in response to Jake Paul rematch in MMA

Jake Paul's first time boxing a genuine combat sports athlete came when he took on Ben Askren in 2021. 'The Problem Child' made quick work of Askren and knocked him out in round one.

Paul's recent signing with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has stirred conversations about a potential debut opponent. ESPN MMA even suggested that a rematch between 'The Problem Child' and Askren should take place in MMA, where the former professional fighter could get his "revenge."

However, Ben Askren has made it clear that a mountain of red tape stood in the way of an MMA fight with another promotion. 'Funky' alluded to his still-existing UFC contract, which froze upon his retirement:

"Well that would be delightful, but my UFC contract froze when I retired. Lots of hurdles to clear, someone take care of those for me and I’d love to rub his face in the canvas for a while."

See the tweet below:

Well that would be delightful, but my UFC contract froze when I retired. Lots of hurdles to clear, someone take care of those for me and I’d love to rub his face in the canvas for a while. twitter.com/espnmma/status…

The UFC is notoriously pedantic when it comes to contract stipulations with fighters. Georges St. Pierre famously claimed that his UFC contract barred him from competing against boxing hall-of-famer Oscar De La Hoya several years ago. St. Pierre stated that his UFC contract had not expired, and despite having retired from MMA, Dana White refused to let him fight De La Hoya.

Tony Ferguson offers Jake Paul assistance after signing with PFL

Jake Paul recently signed a contract with the rising MMA promotion, Professional Fighters League (PFL). 'The Problem Child' will now compete in the 'Super Fight division' and will be making his MMA debut later this year.

Paul is currently without a coach but has recently been offered a hand by Tony Ferguson. 'El Cucuy' took to Twitter to offer his coaching expertise to Paul:

"Let me know when you need a good MMA coach @jakepaul You can be one of my students- Champ."

See the tweet below:

Let me know when you need a good MMA coach @jakepaul You can be one of my students- Champ 🥷 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 # KeepGrindin’Kid https://t.co/11JQM4NS4T

Paul has already called out Nate Diaz and offered to fight him in MMA as long as Diaz agrees to fight him in a boxing match prior to that. The PFL released the following video featuring 'The Problem Child', which was uploaded to Twitter by Ariel Helwani.

"In this clip, Jake Paul says he has offered Nate Diaz a two fight deal: one fight in boxing and then 6 months later in MMA under the PFL banner."

Watch the video below:

In this clip, Jake Paul says he has offered Nate Diaz a two fight deal: one fight in boxing and then 6 months later in MMA under the PFL banner https://t.co/vqzTvZ1ben