UFC and ONE Championship turned heads over the past week by announcing a landmark trade that sent Ben Askren to the UFC, and Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson to ONE Championship.
UFC fighters themselves were shocked to hear the news, with one in particular being UFC 230's Jared Cannonier. Ahead of his fight with Dave Branch, he spoke with Fightful MMA's James Lynch about the move.
"I'm not too privy of the business aspect of it. It could be a good thing. Maybe a fighter isn't happy in an organization. I think it's good for the promotion and both of the fighters. Demetrious Johnson has already established himself in the UFC and the world -- the greatest flyweight to ever do it. I feel he has more bodies to do it with in ONE, in the Asian market. Ben Askren being a welterweight and coming to the UFC -- lightweight and welterweight are two of the most stacked divisions, and the best welterweights are in the UFC. That's the best for Ben Askren, the UFC, ONE and Mighty Mouse. This is just one instance, and it could be an instance where it comes out and bites somebody in the ass. It's different, that's for sure. It's like watching the election."
You can see our full, exclusive interview with Jared Cannonier on our new MMA & boxing Youtube channel. Make sure to subscribe!
