Tag: Ben Askren

Askren On Masvidal Rivalry: “I Think I Win Way More Times Than I Lose”

Former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren has suggested his loss to Jorge Masvidal was a fluke, and claims he’d beat “Gamebred” more times than he’d lose.

In his first defeat in professional MMA, Askren was on the unfortunate end of …

Jorge Masvidal & Ben Askren

Former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren has suggested his loss to Jorge Masvidal was a fluke, and claims he’d beat “Gamebred” more times than he’d lose.

In his first defeat in professional MMA, Askren was on the unfortunate end of a remarkable UFC record. After building a 19-0 record across a decade in the sport, which included a debut win against Robbie Lawler on MMA’s biggest stage, “Funky” was matched up with Masvidal.

After a number of heated back-and-forths ahead of their clash, the pair entered the Octagon together on the main card of UFC 239 in July 2019. After just five seconds, the fight was over and Askren was unconscious on the canvas. Having eaten a brutal flying knee, the Iowa native became the victim of the fastest knockout in UFC history.

Askren: Masvidal Loss Was Down To “One Fucking Move”

While Masvidal went on to defeat Nate Diaz in a Madison Square Garden main event, a victory which won him the symbolic ‘BMF’ belt, and challenge for Kamaru Usman’s welterweight gold twice, Askren’s career was over shortly after his knockout loss.

In his one and only UFC main event three months later, “Funky” was put to sleep by fellow grappling extraordinaire Demian Maia. Askren retired from MMA before the end of 2019, and went on to earn a hefty payday from a boxing match with YouTuber Jake Paul.

But despite hanging up his gloves, Askren hasn’t refrained form taking some more shots at his former rival. During a recent appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast, the 37-year-old claimed that without one lucky move, he’d have beaten Masvidal. In Askren’s mind, he’d defeat the former two-time title challenger “way more times” than he’d lose.

“He [Jorge Masvidal] got one fucking move on me… It’s not that he beat me and if we do that again I think I win at that point in my life, for sure. I think I win way more times than I lose.“ (h/t Sportskeeda)

Askren even believes Masvidal knows that to be the case. He added that in order to convince the Miami native to sign the bout agreement, he had to engage in a hefty dose of trash talk.

“He knew that too, that’s why he didn’t sign the bout agreement and that’s why I had to taunt him and when he got so mad because I had to continue to taunt him in order to get him to sign.”

Do you agree with Ben Askren? Would he beat Jorge Masvidal more times than he’d lose?

Continue Reading Askren On Masvidal Rivalry: “I Think I Win Way More Times Than I Lose” at MMA News.

Nate Diaz Rips Jake Paul: ‘You’d Get Smoked in a Real Fight’

Nate Diaz had some serious fighting words for YouTuber-turned-novelty-boxer Jake Paul on Tuesday.  The main gist? Paul has never fought an actual boxer….

Nate Diaz had some serious fighting words for YouTuber-turned-novelty-boxer Jake Paul on Tuesday.  The main gist? Paul has never fought an actual boxer….

Ben Askren Calls Out Nate Diaz: ‘I Can Be In The USADA Pool Tomorrow’

Ben AskrenBen Askren has proposed he be the man to take on Nate Diaz in what many expect will be the fan favourites final UFC fight. ‘Funky’ recently made headlines when he begrudgingly admitted that Jake Paul is actually pretty good at boxing. The former ONE Championship and Bellator titlist suffered a first-round TKO loss to […]

Ben Askren

Ben Askren has proposed he be the man to take on Nate Diaz in what many expect will be the fan favourites final UFC fight.

‘Funky’ recently made headlines when he begrudgingly admitted that Jake Paul is actually pretty good at boxing.

The former ONE Championship and Bellator titlist suffered a first-round TKO loss to the YouTuber and then watched ‘The Problem Child’ outpoint his friend and former UFC champion, Tyron Woodley.

“So, the thing I said when I went in to fight him [Jake Paul] is maybe he’s good or maybe he’s not,” Askren said on the Lex Fridman podcast. “We really have no idea to this point, you know. I knew that Tyron was a lot better in boxing than I was. And so, I thought that there is a good likelihood that Tyron beats him up but there is a chance that Jake is kind of good at this.

“I think what played out is he’s kind of good at it. And if you saw the way I saw it, he was still impressive in his showing and he has obviously put a lot of time into it. So, he’s not bad, I’ll say that much.” 

This clearly didn’t sit well for Diaz who went on to callout Askren for his comments saying he is “a retired wrestler who can’t fight or box”

Ben Askren Suggests He Will Return To MMA To Fight Nate Diaz

Askren has been retired from MMA since he suffered back-to-back losses against Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia in 2019. A major hip surgery seemed to cement his retirement before he came back for a lucrative fight with Paul. Askren now appears to be willing to return to MMA to settle his beef with Diaz.

“Nate is right, I suck at boxing. He sucks at MMA,” Askren wrote on Twitter. “If he wants me to prove it I can be in the USADA pool tomorrow. Would be happy to be the last fight on his contract.”

Do you want to see Ben Askren return to MMA to take on Nate Diaz?

Ben Askren Admits Jake Paul Is ‘Kind Of Good’ At Boxing

Ben AskrenBen Askren has finally given props to Jake Paul for his boxing skills after being knocked out by the YouTuber and then seeing ‘The Problem Child’ outpoint his friend, Tyron Woodley. ‘Funky’ retired from MMA in 2019 after suffering consecutive stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. A major hip surgery followed before he […]

Ben Askren

Ben Askren has finally given props to Jake Paul for his boxing skills after being knocked out by the YouTuber and then seeing ‘The Problem Child’ outpoint his friend, Tyron Woodley.

‘Funky’ retired from MMA in 2019 after suffering consecutive stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. A major hip surgery followed before he announced he would return to fighting to take on Paul in the boxing ring earlier this year.

Things did not go well for Askren who is known for his elite-level wrestling skills and distinct lack of striking ability. Paul caught him flush in the first round and despite the fact, Askren was able to beat the count the fight was quickly waved off.

Paul has since gone on to beat former UFC champion, Woodley, over eight rounds and even showed some heart to survive tough moments against ‘The Chosen One’

Now, Askren is finally ready to admit that Paul is actually a decent boxer.

“So the thing I said when I went in to fight him [Jake Paul] is maybe he’s good or maybe he’s not. We really have no idea to this point, you know,” Askren said on Lex Freidman’s podcast.

“I knew that Tyron was a lot better in boxing than I was. And so I thought that there is a good likelihood that Tyron beats him up but there is a chance that Jake is kind of good at this. I think what played out is he’s kind of good at it. And if you saw the way I saw it, he was still impressive in his showing and he has obviously put a lot of time into it. So, he’s not bad, I’ll say that much.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)

Ben Askren Previously Dismissed Jake Paul’s Boxing Ability

“I think people enjoy it.” Askren told LowKickMMA about celebrity boxing ahead of his fight with Paul. “As far as ‘Is Jake Paul a real fighter?’ No. I don’t really think so. But, do people want to watch him box? The answer is yeah.”

“There is nothing to be made from either one of his fights.” Askren added. “I always joke with some of my kids. It’s like well, you know, I want you to wrestle competition that’s at your level because if you don’t if I throw you in there against Cael Sanderson or Jordan Burroughs, you’re just going to get demolished and I’m not gonna be able to see anything. If you go get someone who’s a bum you’re just going to pin them in 10 seconds, and I’m not going to get to see anything. So with those matches that are really lopsided and in this case it’s because the other person is really terrible.”

“You don’t really take too much away from that because it’s too hard to because the competition is so low that pretty much no matter what he did. He was going to look good.”

Do you agree with Ben Askren? Is Jake Paul a decent boxer?

Ben Askren Admits Jake Paul Is ‘Kind Of Good’ At Boxing

Ben AskrenBen Askren has finally given props to Jake Paul for his boxing skills after being knocked out by the YouTuber and then seeing ‘The Problem Child’ outpoint his friend, Tyron Woodley. ‘Funky’ retired from MMA in 2019 after suffering consecutive stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. A major hip surgery followed before he […]

Ben Askren

Ben Askren has finally given props to Jake Paul for his boxing skills after being knocked out by the YouTuber and then seeing ‘The Problem Child’ outpoint his friend, Tyron Woodley.

‘Funky’ retired from MMA in 2019 after suffering consecutive stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. A major hip surgery followed before he announced he would return to fighting to take on Paul in the boxing ring earlier this year.

Things did not go well for Askren who is known for his elite-level wrestling skills and distinct lack of striking ability. Paul caught him flush in the first round and despite the fact, Askren was able to beat the count the fight was quickly waved off.

Paul has since gone on to beat former UFC champion, Woodley, over eight rounds and even showed some heart to survive tough moments against ‘The Chosen One’

Now, Askren is finally ready to admit that Paul is actually a decent boxer.

“So the thing I said when I went in to fight him [Jake Paul] is maybe he’s good or maybe he’s not. We really have no idea to this point, you know,” Askren said on Lex Freidman’s podcast.

“I knew that Tyron was a lot better in boxing than I was. And so I thought that there is a good likelihood that Tyron beats him up but there is a chance that Jake is kind of good at this. I think what played out is he’s kind of good at it. And if you saw the way I saw it, he was still impressive in his showing and he has obviously put a lot of time into it. So, he’s not bad, I’ll say that much.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)

Ben Askren Previously Dismissed Jake Paul’s Boxing Ability

“I think people enjoy it.” Askren told LowKickMMA about celebrity boxing ahead of his fight with Paul. “As far as ‘Is Jake Paul a real fighter?’ No. I don’t really think so. But, do people want to watch him box? The answer is yeah.”

“There is nothing to be made from either one of his fights.” Askren added. “I always joke with some of my kids. It’s like well, you know, I want you to wrestle competition that’s at your level because if you don’t if I throw you in there against Cael Sanderson or Jordan Burroughs, you’re just going to get demolished and I’m not gonna be able to see anything. If you go get someone who’s a bum you’re just going to pin them in 10 seconds, and I’m not going to get to see anything. So with those matches that are really lopsided and in this case it’s because the other person is really terrible.”

“You don’t really take too much away from that because it’s too hard to because the competition is so low that pretty much no matter what he did. He was going to look good.”

Do you agree with Ben Askren? Is Jake Paul a decent boxer?

Ben Askren Reflects On KO Loss To Jorge Masvidal: ‘If We Do That Again, I Think I’ll Win’

Ben AskrenFormer UFC welterweight contender, Ben Askren has reflected briefly on his stunning, record-setting flying knee knockout loss back in July 2019 against Jorge Masvidal. And claims if that version of himself rematched Masvidal — he would be confident of emerging victoriously more often than not against the Floridian. Askren, a former ONE Championship and Bellator […]

Ben Askren

Former UFC welterweight contender, Ben Askren has reflected briefly on his stunning, record-setting flying knee knockout loss back in July 2019 against Jorge Masvidal. And claims if that version of himself rematched Masvidal — he would be confident of emerging victoriously more often than not against the Floridian.

Askren, a former ONE Championship and Bellator MMA welterweight champion, made history back in November 2018 alongside former flyweight kingpin, Demetrious Johnson as the two were involved in the first cross-promotional trade in the history of the sport as Askren signed with the UFC while Johnson parted ways, penning terms with ONE Championship.

Despite beginning his Octagon promisingly, the wrestling standout, Askren stopped former undisputed UFC welterweight titleholder, Robbie Lawler with a controversial bulldog choke at UFC 235 — improving his professional record to 19-0(1).

In his next Octagon walk, Askren returned in July of that year in a high-profile, potential welterweight title-eliminator at UFC 239 against the aforenoted, Masvidal — dropping the fastest knockout loss in the history of the organization as he found himself on the receiving end of a five second flying knee.

The defeat came as the first in the veteran, Askren’s professional career following 21 professional outings, with the Iowa native becoming somewhat of a meme across the internet and the butt of the joke following the knockout defeat.

Ben Askren believes he would beat Jorge Masvidal more often than not if they fought multiple times

Reflecting on the career-derailing loss to Masvidal during a recent on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Askren maintains that he would likely beat Masvidal more than he would lose if that version of him back in 2019 had the opportunity to fight the Miami native again. 

“He [Jorge Masvidal] got one f*cking move on me,” Ben Askren said. “It’s not he beat me and if we do that again I think I win at that point in my life, for sure. I think I win way more times than I lose.“

“He knew that too, that’s why he didn’t sign the bout agreement and that’s why I had to taunt him and whe he got so mad because I had to continue to taunt him in order to get him to sign,” Ben Askren explained. (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)

The 37-year-old Askren competed just once more professionally following his knockout loss to Masvidal, headlining a UFC Fight Night Kallang event in October of that year in an eventual third round rear-naked choke loss to former middleweight and welterweight title challenger, Demian Maia. 

In his most recent foray into professional combat sports, Askren made his professional boxing debut in April of this year under the Triller Fight Club banner, suffering an opening round knockout loss to undefeated YouTuber, Jake Paul. 

As for Masvidal, the American Top Team staple was slated to return at UFC 269 next month against Leon Edwards until an undisclosed injury forced him from the main card bout. The #8 ranked contender has earmarked a March comeback from injury as a result.