Sparks fly between Chael Sonnen and Ben Askren on grounds of Leon Edwards' persona

With the UFC now in its makeshift offseason, two of the company's former fighters have engaged in a mild debate on social media.

Following UFC 296, Ben Askren was critical of Leon Edwards' personality, claiming that the champion would not sell a lot of pay-per-views with his current demeanor. The tweet urged Chael Sonnen to quickly take the defense of Edwards, beginning the disagreement.

Starting the exchange, Ben Askren tweeted that Leon Edwards 'seems like a great person' but 'ain't gonna sell many PPVs.'

Chael Sonnen responded nearly two hours later, telling Askren to print out the tweet to 'have something tangible' and 'shove it up your a**.'

In the most recent chapter of the exchange, Askren told Sonnen to 'take notes' of Edwards.

Sonnen has yet to reply, making the Dec. 17 tweet from 'Funky' the seemingly final post of the interaction.

Sonnen was a part of the ESPN+ broadcast as a member of the desk crew whose segments took place in between prelim fights.

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What is Ben Askren doing now?

After a long and successful MMA career, Ben Askren has settled into the role of a full-time father.

Though Askren periodically makes appearances in the media, the former Division I American wrestling national champion has not competed since fighting Jake Paul in boxing in 2021. Askren has said that he does not desire to be the type of fighter who continues to fight at an old age in desperation for money. The former welterweight officially retired from MMA in 2019.

After going just 1-2 in the UFC, Askren retired from MMA for good. The former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder previously retired in 2017 after defeating Shinya Aoki before returning to action after being traded to the UFC for Demetrious Johnson.

The 39-year-old retired fighter has opened up in the past on his worries about making an income after hanging up the gloves but has appeared to be successful since his last competition.