Ben Askren Involved In Confrontation With UFC Title Challenger, Countdown To UFC 234 Replay

By Dana Becker

- The UFC heads to Australia this coming Saturday night for UFC 234: Whittaker vs. Gastelum. In the main event, Robert Whittaker defends his middleweight title against former Ultimate Fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum.

Whittaker and Gastelum, along with the co-main event between Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya, were featured on Countdown to UFC 234. A complete replay of the program can be viewed in the video above.

Below is the current fight card:

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

UFC Middleweight Championship
Robert Whittaker (c) vs. Kelvin Gastelum

* Middleweight: Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva

* Bantamweight: Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon

* Lightweight: Devonte Smith vs. Dong Hyun Ma

* Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey vs. Jim Crute

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/8 p.m. ET)

* Featherweight: Shane Young vs. Austin Arnett

* Female Flyweight: Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kasseum

* Flyweight: Kai-Kara France vs. Raulian Paiva

* Bantamweight: Teruto Ishihara vs. Kyung Ho Kang

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6:30 p.m. ET)

* Lightweight: Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Rosa

* Lightweight: Jalin Turner vs. Callan Potter

* Bantamweight: Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez

- Former Bellator and ONE titleholder Ben Askren and top UFC welterweight title challenger Kamaru Usman were both on hand for a recent press conference. The two have exchanged words for the past several months via social media, and when they arrived backstage, the fighters had to be separated from one another.

Most of it was just more words between the two, but Askren stated during the press conference that "Marty tried attacking me 20 minutes ago." Askren has resorted to calling Usman "Marty" over the course of their rivalry.

The feud between the two started late last year when Askren offered to step in and face Usman, who declined the bout. On social media, Askren again took aim at Usman, who will face Tyron Woodley for the title at UFC 235. Askren, meanwhile, meets Robbie Lawler.

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