UFC president Dana White opens up on the supposed bet he places on the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight. Like many, UFC president Dana White was caught up in the whirlwind that was the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match. In the lead-up to the match, W…
UFC president Dana White opens up on the supposed bet he places on the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight. Like many, UFC president Dana White was caught up in the whirlwind that was the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match. In the lead-up to the match, White expressed interest in putting a wager […]
Ben Askren seems to have boiled down his loss to Jake Paul to one very simple reason. The former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion came out of retirement and hip surgery to take on the YouTube sensation in a highly-publicized bout this past Saturday. The result could not have gone much worse for Askren, as […]
Ben Askren seems to have boiled down his loss to Jake Paul to one very simple reason.
The former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion came out of retirement and hip surgery to take on the YouTube sensation in a highly-publicized bout this past Saturday. The result could not have gone much worse for Askren, as he was stopped within the first two minutes of the fight.
Askren has since vowed to stay off social media to avoid the seemingly endless string of negativity and verbal abuse that has been aimed his way since the loss. However, he did appear on the ‘Louder with Crowder‘ podcast to address the fight and the fallout (H/T MMA Junkie).
“I’m disappointed. … I saw people don’t think I took it seriously, and here’s the thing: When I took the fight, I said No. 1 for the money, No. 2 I think this could be a good time,” Askren said on Monday. “I used to box with my friends in high school just for fun. And I trained hard for 11 weeks. I didn’t miss a practice, and it just didn’t go my way.”
It appears that, more than anything, Askren is bothered the thought that the finish could have been avoided if he listened to the advice of Tyron Woodley and Mike Rhodes in his corner.
“We knew he had a good overhand right, and I’m a dumbass, and I didn’t block it,” Askren said. “My defense was a little too loose. I heard my coaches, both Tyron and ‘Biggie,’ were saying stop reacting to his fakes, and I didn’t, and I paid the price.”
Being knocked-out by a YouTube personality obviously isn’t a good look for a former professional fighter. Having it happen in less time than it took Paul to knockout a former basketball player is even worse. Add in the amount of trash talk the two shared in the lead-up to the fight, and it probably cuts to the bone.
Despite all of that, Askren says he has no regrets about stepping into the ring one last time.
“I think one of the things that really separates me from a lot of people is, like, I could’ve very easily sat on my couch and said I don’t want to do that because there’s a potential I’ll be embarrassed,” Askren said. “That would be the only reason I wouldn’t have done it. There’s no other valid reason, and I said I’m gonna do it, so f— it.”
Do you think Ben Askren took the fight against Jake Paul seriously?
Jake Paul has thrown out a challenge to who he wants to face in his next boxing match: former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier. Frankly, it’s hard to know when to take Jake Paul seriously or consider his behavior to be pure trolling. So when he calle…
Jake Paul has thrown out a challenge to who he wants to face in his next boxing match: former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier. Frankly, it’s hard to know when to take Jake Paul seriously or consider his behavior to be pure trolling. So when he called out retired UFC legend Daniel Cormier, someone who […]
Following Triller’s Fight Club boxing match, Youtube-star-turned-boxer Jake Paul knocked Ben Askren out and is taunting UFC president Dana White for making a million-dollar wager that he would lose. Weeks before the boxing match between Paul and …
Following Triller’s Fight Club boxing match, Youtube-star-turned-boxer Jake Paul knocked Ben Askren out and is taunting UFC president Dana White for making a million-dollar wager that he would lose. Weeks before the boxing match between Paul and Askren, White was on the Youtube video podcast “Hot Boxin’ With Mike Tyson” and was adamant about betting […]
Things got a little dicey between Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul’s team shortly before the Paul/Askren boxing match this past Saturday. One of the names thrown around to be Jake Paul’s next opponent in his special-attractions-based boxing career is former…
Things got a little dicey between Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul’s team shortly before the Paul/Askren boxing match this past Saturday. One of the names thrown around to be Jake Paul’s next opponent in his special-attractions-based boxing career is former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Makes sense. The storyline writes itself: “Former UFC Champion Seeks […]
Bellator commentator John McCarthy is critical of where Triller is headed as a company after the controversial stoppage in the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren bout. Former MMA champion Josh Thompson alongside John McCarthy took several issues with the Triller…
Bellator commentator John McCarthy is critical of where Triller is headed as a company after the controversial stoppage in the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren bout. Former MMA champion Josh Thompson alongside John McCarthy took several issues with the Triller event insinuating that it only hurt the sport of boxing. Lately, “Big John” has been […]
Ben Askren seems to have boiled down his loss to Jake Paul to one very simple reason. The former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion came out of retirement and hip surgery to take on the YouTube sensation in a highly-publicized bout this past Saturday. The result could not have gone much worse for Askren, as […]