Ben Askren overcame an early assault from Robbie Lawler and emerged from UFC 235 victorious in his debut. The former ONE Championship fighter came over to the UFC in an unprecedented trade, making his first fight for the promotion at UFC 235 on Saturday night.
Things looked shaky early on for Askren, but he somehow survived an early barrage of punches. Bloodied and swollen, Lawler managed to take Lawler to the mat midway through the first round and got him in a bulldog choke. Referee Herb Dean ended up calling the fight a few moments later in what would turn into a controversial stoppage.
Dean did seem to check Lawler for consciousness during the choke, even lifting his arm which appeared to go limp. However, once Dean called the fight and Askren released, Lawler immediately popped up and protested the submission stoppage. Replays were inconclusive as to whether or not Lawler ever actually lost consciousness.
Regardless, Askren showed great resiliency in his UFC debut. Following the fight, the 34-year-old Askren immediately called out UFC president Dana White, who previously prevented the former Bellator MMA and ONE Championship titleholder from signing with the promotion.
"I want to know how long until Dana bi*ches about that stoppage," Askren said.
"I have one other question, 'Hey Dana, is that really the best you got? Bring 'em baby."
Check out Askren's full post-fight interview in the Octagon below.
"Guys, you can boo. I'm not the freaking referee, that's what it all comes down to," Askren said to a booing crowd. "Robbie is obviously one of my favorite fighters so it kind of sucked that I had to fight him first. I was freaking discombobulated from that slam. I landed on my head a little bit and it took me a while to get my wits about me, but I expected a game plan. 'Funky' sure ain't going anywhere.
"Again, I'm not the referee. My job is to come here and fight."