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There’s certainly no love lost between Jorge Masvidal and Ben Askren. “Gamebred” did not appreciate Askren’s pre-fight barbs — which were admittedly fairly mild — and Masvidal returned some trash talk following his record-setting knockout win over the Olympian. Still, after the immediate aftermath, Masvidal has shown Askren some respect and given him a bit of credit for serving as a launch pad to his own stardom.
In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Masvidal discussed his former foe’s decision to retire (transcription via scmp.com):
“He brings in his own crowd, – he was a stand-out in wrestling, especially collegiate wrestling, so he did have a fan base. He did some things over at Bellator and on One FC. So he did have a crowd that he brought over with him to the sport, a different type of crowd. But what I don’t like is we’re fighters. We’re supposed to fight, man. You got two losses, it’s no big deal my brother. Get back on the high horse, get to work and figure it out, man.”
Masvidal did note that he doesn’t know the extent of Askren’s hip injury, but otherwise, Masvidal advises that Askren keep grinding. It’s easy to understand the points of view of each man, as Masvidal suffered double digit losses before his current win streak, which has elevated his ranking and level of fame to greater heights than ever before.
Askren, meanwhile, admitted that he never loved the sport, and it’s difficult to see the 35-year-old bounce back from such a major injury and fix the holes in his game to become a title contender once more.
Insomnia
Anyone think Donald Cerrone retires after his showdown with Conor McGregor? The man has a legendary resume.
He drew the first blood!
Best Mike Perry sparring video yet?
Some different transition options for my jiu-jitsu fans.
Also for my BJJ nerds, the best grappler on the planet right now, Gordon Ryan, shared some of his instructional DVD publicly.
Tito Ortiz has been punched by some pretty legendary hitters, so this is high praise!
From Russia With KO clips
Shoutout to Caposa for documenting the madness in United Arab Emirates and Russia today! Anyway, spinning back fist to lunging overhand is a fun combination.
Ahmad Labban completely starches Magomedsultanov 1:14 into R1. My god this KO. #UAEWarriors9 pic.twitter.com/QRNMJudd6x
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 29, 2019
UFC never should have released Albert Tumenov, his hands are precise.
Albert “Einstein” Tumenov KO’s Beslan Ushukov with a picture perfect uppercut in R2, defending his ACA welterweight title. Einstein is 5-0 since exiting the UFC in 2016. #ACA102 pic.twitter.com/zgFxU5Ik1d
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 29, 2019
Right hand over the top of a jab — the MMA classic.
Vener Galiev floors a bloodied Ermek Tlauov with an overhand right for the 2nd round TKO #ACA102 pic.twitter.com/a34v9peclz
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 29, 2019
It doesn’t have to be pretty to be effective.
Salamu Abdurakhmanov (now 12-1) submits Valery Myasnikov via Neck Crank in R2, defending his ACA middleweight strap. pic.twitter.com/MfpCSWBABB
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 29, 2019
Random Land
Full send!
Midnight Music: Thanksgiving 2019 is in the books, which makes today the official start of the “Christmas season” for much of the country. With that in mind, there is precisely ONE Christmas album I’ve found good enough to listen to year round:
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.