Tag: Ben Askren

Former UFC, Bellator, and ONE welterweight Ben Askren has criticized Jorge Masvidal’s conduct following his loss to Colby Covington at UFC 272.

At last weekend’s pay-per-view, one of the promotion’s long-awaited grudge matches took center stage. As former teammates, roommates, and friends, and now bitter rivals, the lead-up to the Las Vegas held event was always going to be a fiery affair.

That certainly turned out to be true, with a host of insults and jibes flying back and forth during fight week, at the press conference, and even during the five-round contest.

After 25 minutes of action, Covington, who had dominated much of the contest, was awarded a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

While “Chaos” had put his previous feud versus reigning welterweight king Kamaru Usman to bed following their fight last November with a show of respect, that certainly wasn’t the case at UFC 272.

After the final horn, security had to swarm the cage as the pair continued their exchanges. That certainly confused Askren, a former opponent of Masvidal, who questioned why “Gamebred” searched for a scrap after having 25 minutes to do what he wanted to Covington.

“It was kinda what we expected. The thing that I get annoyed about is Jorge wants to fight him after the fight, and it’s like, listen, you just had 25 minutes to do almost anything you want,” Askren pointed out during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “You can’t eye gauge and bite, you know, we’ve got a couple rules, but not a lot. So you could do whatever you wanted for 25 minutes, and now you’re gonna act like you want more? Hey, you had 25 minutes, freakin’ do it to him.”

UFC 272 Wasn’t The Only Criticism Askren Sent Masvidal’s Way…

While Masvidal’s defeat and post-fight antics drew the brunt of Askren’s criticism, “Funky” left some in the tank for later.

This time, the focus was on a new piece of ink Masvidal debuted during fight week. The tattoo is of the Miami native’s infamous flying knee knockout of Askren back in 2019. The KO, which remains the fastest in UFC history, is arguably what truly shot Masvidal into stardom.

Discussing the tattoo he had a part in laying the foundations for, Askren branded Masvidal’s latest ink as “terrible.”

“Ha, it’s terrible. Like, oh, God. It just looks like crap,” said Askren. “That’s something a teenager gets and you’re like, ‘Oh shit, I thought that was gonna look a lot better. I thought this was gonna be really badass, but it looks kinda dopey.’ You’d think (because) he’s rich, he could go get the best tattoo artist in the place.”

Askren also pointed out that Masvidal’s decision to immortalize the moment on his body perhaps signifies how important it was in taking his career to the next level.

“I think it’s semi-telling how important that singular moment was to his career, and he knows it,” claimed Askren. “And he tattooed it on his body because it was that important to him.”

Do you agree with Ben Askren’s takes on Jorge Masvidal’s post-fight attitude at UFC 272 and new piece of ink?

Continue Reading Askren Slams Masvidal For UFC 272: You Had 25 Mins To Do Something at MMA News.

American Top Team founder Dan Lambert says the best outcome for his gym at UFC 272 would be a replica of Jorge Masvidal’s knockout of Ben Askren in 2019.

While ATT’s interest in this weekend’s pay-per-view recently increased with the late-notice addition of Brazil’s Renato Moicano to the card, the gym’s main attention will no doubt be on the headlining bout, which pits current influential member Masvidal against the ousted Colby Covington.

While Covington’s individual history training and living with Masvidal has provided the main narrative heading into the event, “Gamebred” isn’t the only member of the ATT roster that “Chaos” got on the wrong side of during his time at the Coconut Creek, Florida-based facility.

With that in mind, Dan Lambert, who founded the gym in 2001, is after a fast and emphatic victory for his man in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena this Saturday.

Lambert: Quick KO For Masvidal Would Be “Satisfying” For ATT

During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, Lambert discussed the upcoming grudge match between one of his gym’s current fighters and perhaps the most notable former athlete, who he even used to manage.

Given Covington’s history with ATT, and feuds with the likes of Dustin Poirier and Joanna J?drzejczyk, Lambert believes the best-case scenario for his gym would be a “satisfying” early finish, perhaps similar to the downfall of a certain “funky” former welterweight in 2019.

“I’d be lying if I said this was just another fight. We’ve got fights every week. This is a monstrous fight…You throw the personal side into it and it’s a monstrous fight,” said Lambert. “And I can’t help but look at what a fight like this means to the individual at our gym. This is a big fight. Jorge wins this fight, his career goes a certain way. Jorge loses this fight, it’s gonna go another way.

“Best outcome for us (ATT) would be Masvidal/Askren 2. That would be pretty satisfying for a lot of people at this gym,” Lambert continued. “It didn’t really seem realistic against somebody as good as Ben Askren. But I think Colby is a whole other level than that. Outside of Usman, Colby is gonna be favorited against everybody. So, yeah, it’s probably an unrealistic expectation to have a short fight like that. But I think it’s also an unrealistic expectation to think that Colby is gonna go in there and dominate Jorge.”

The source of Masvidal’s current stardom perhaps largely derived from one flying knee. At UFC 239 in July 2019, the Miami native was matched up with Ben Askren, who, at the time, boasted an unblemished 19-0 record and had emerged victorious in his promotional debut against Robbie Lawler four months prior.

In one of the most memorable moments in UFC history, Masvidal rendered Askren unconscious after just five seconds with a brutal flying knee, marking the fastest KO in the promotion’s history.

Now set to face another decorated wrestler, will “Gamebred” bring the acrobatic maneuver back out of his toolbox? Only time will tell.

Do you think Jorge Masvidal can replicate his quick victory over Ben Askren against Colby Covington at UFC 272?

Continue Reading ATT Founder: The Best UFC 272 Outcome For Us Is Masvidal/Askren 2 at MMA News.