Tag: Jake Paul

Video: Ben Askren Releases Sparring Footage Ahead Of Jake Paul Boxing Match

AskrenBen Askren is putting in the work ahead of his boxing debut. Askren takes on YouTuber Jake Paul in an eight-round boxing match that will headline Triller’s upcoming April 17 event. It will be the first time Askren competes in competitive combat sports since his final UFC fight that saw him suffer a submission defeat […]

Askren

Ben Askren is putting in the work ahead of his boxing debut.

Askren takes on YouTuber Jake Paul in an eight-round boxing match that will headline Triller’s upcoming April 17 event.

It will be the first time Askren competes in competitive combat sports since his final UFC fight that saw him suffer a submission defeat against Demian Maia back in October 2019.

And “Funky” is clearly showing some improvements in his striking as he shared recent sparring footage that showed him clinching, striking and even using head movement.

You can watch it below:

Of course, sparring footage will be very different from what we end up seeing April 17 as many observers — as well as oddsmakers — are picking Paul to come out on top.

Despite all that, Askren remains confident of getting the win despite not being known for his striking at all during his MMA career.

“TKO, round seven,” Askren predicted in January. “Because I don’t have a huge amount of power. It’s going to take me some time to wear him down and make him hate his life.

“And then eventually, he’ll say, ‘look, I’m a rich celebrity. I don’t need to get f*cking punched anymore. I’m just going to roll over.’”

What do you make of Askren’s sparring footage?

Chris Leben Staying Retired, ‘Unless I’m Fighting Jake Paul Or Something’

Chris LebenChris Leben is happy in his retirement, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be coaxed out of it if the money was right. the 40-year-old had actually intended to hang up the gloves after his five-round war against Dakota Cochrane at BKFC. However, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, it put a pause on his plans […]

Chris Leben

Chris Leben is happy in his retirement, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be coaxed out of it if the money was right.

the 40-year-old had actually intended to hang up the gloves after his five-round war against Dakota Cochrane at BKFC. However, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, it put a pause on his plans to open up a new gym and gave BKFC matchmaker Nate Shook an idea.

“The Dakota Cochrane fight, there was a lot of things in the build up to that fight that didn’t work out well for me. The weight cut and everything else,” Leben explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Nonetheless, the fight was a five-round war. Obviously, the judges had it going the other way but for me, I was actually happy that I went out on a bloodbath fight. I fought all five rounds. I was OK, that’s it, I’m done.

“It was really (BKFC matchmaker) Nate Shook was in my ear. He’s like ‘I know all the stuff before the fight that you were going through, you should go out on a win.’”

Despite finishing his MMA career at 22-12 and holding a 3-1 record in bare-knuckle boxing, something about finishing his career off a loss didn’t sit right with Leben.

“I love Nate but being a little bit of a promoter though. I was like yeah, I should go out on a win,” Leben said. “It would be way better to retire with a ‘W’ than an ‘L.’

“I start thinking about it, I’m like I’m healthy with Covid and everything else going on, there’s not a lot I can do in the way of reffing and focusing on opening my gym out here so I’m kind of a landing pattern, more or less, until this vaccination gets out further. So let’s do it. You’re right. I went for it.”

The decision ended up paying dividends, as Leben stopped Quentin Henry in just 67-seconds. Afterwards, he was able to make good on his promise and retire from combat sports for good. He plans to spend the next chapter of his life being a coach and mentor to young up-and-coming fighters, much the same way Robert Follis was to him. But if someone were to offer him a substantial paycheck, perhaps against a certain internet-celebrity-turned-boxer, he wouldn’t say no.

“Unless I’m fighting Jake Paul or something crazy like that, that’s it. I’m done,” Leben said. “I really don’t have a desire, I don’t have anything to prove. If I did, it’s because somebody wants to pay me a zillion dollars.”

Paul has called out a number of notable MMA stars, and is currently training for a boxing match against Ben Askren. a number of fans have reached out to Leben over social media and suggested he should be the one to silence the YouTube star. While Leben may not like the way Paul has done things, he doesn’t fault him for taking advantage of his opportunities.

“Honestly, a lot of people want to act like they’re true martial artists and they’re pure to the sport and it’s a disgrace. That’s all bulls—,” Chris Leben said. “Listen, they’re bringing a lot of eyes to combat sports. They’re bringing a lot of attention and a lot of focus and that’s good for us. Right now, BKFC is the fastest-growing sport in the world. Combat sports are now in everybody’s home. These combat sports athletes are household names. 10 years ago, that wasn’t the case. People are getting greedy. Don’t act like that.

“Let’s take it. It makes sense. It makes money. It draws attention. It’s like Conor [McGregor] fighting [Floyd] Mayweather, look that’s a great fight. It was great for MMA. It was great for boxing. Because you had the MMA fans watching the MMA guy, you had MMA guys ordering a boxing pay-per-view. Now all of a sudden you’ve got crossover fans, more embedded in combat sports as a whole. I think there’s no bad about it.”

“Absolutely [I’d fight Jake Paul]. You want to put an extra zero on my paycheck to fight that guy? I just fought Quentin Henry. Yeah, absolutely could fight that guy.”

Do you want to see Chris Leben matched up against Jake Paul?

Markus Perez Talks About Sparring Jake Paul

Markus PerezFormer UFC middleweight fighter, Markus Perez, has detailed his recent sparring session with Jake Paul who is currently preparing to box Ben Askren on April 17. Perez joined the UFC in 2017 and picked up two wins inside the Octagon. The 30-year-old was part of the latest rounds of cuts. The end to his UFC […]

Markus Perez

Former UFC middleweight fighter, Markus Perez, has detailed his recent sparring session with Jake Paul who is currently preparing to box Ben Askren on April 17.

Perez joined the UFC in 2017 and picked up two wins inside the Octagon. The 30-year-old was part of the latest rounds of cuts.

The end to his UFC career was not surprising when you consider he lost three fights consecutively.

Perez was most recently in action at UFC Fight Island 8, where he lost via unanimous decision against Dalcha Lungiambula.

During his three-fight skid Perez was also knocked out by Dricus Du Plessis and dropped a decision against Wellington Turman.

Since his UFC release Perez has been staying busy doing some boxing sparring with YouTube celebrity Jake Paul.

In an interview with AG Fight, Perez revealed exactly what went down when he stood across the ring from the 24-year-old.

“He’s young, he has two boxing matches, so he’s starting, you can’t see much and he hasn’t caught a tough guy yet,” Perez said. “I am not a boxer, I am kung fu, I like to kick and I train boxing for a short time with Gabriel de Oliveira, in the American Top Team. He will fight with a guy who is a grappler, he is not even a striker, but he has to see what the guy will take, his head as it will be.”

“From what I saw from our sparring, he will want to make a game of scoring,” Perez added. “I did it slowly, his coaches asked me not to accelerate and I didn’t even wear a helmet, he was wearing a ten-ounce glove and I was wearing a 16. He played with it, took a wave. It was very quiet. If it were a fight I would have gone for a walk.”

Paul is known for being a provocateur outside of the ring but it was Perez who managed to upset the YouTube with his antics during sparring.

“Actually, I was the one who provoked him. I laughed, took the wave, played,” Perez said. “He got mad at me and came to take my head off. I looked to the side because I was punching a lot. His corners got mad at me (laughs). If you put two provocateurs, we see who the leader is. He’s a youtuber and I’m a fighter. He’s coming now.”

Do you think sparring Markus Perez is good preparation for Jake Paul ahead of his fight with Ben Askren?

Jake Paul Details His Training With Jorge Masvidal

Jake PaulYouTube celebrity turned professional boxer Jake Paul has detailed his training with UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal.   The 24-year-old is scheduled to box Ben Askren on April 17. A man Masvidal famously knocked out with a flying knee in five seconds at UFC 239. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Paul revealed what tips ‘Gamebred’ […]

Jake Paul

YouTube celebrity turned professional boxer Jake Paul has detailed his training with UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal.  

The 24-year-old is scheduled to box Ben Askren on April 17. A man Masvidal famously knocked out with a flying knee in five seconds at UFC 239.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Paul revealed what tips ‘Gamebred’ has been giving him ahead of his fight with the former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder.

“(Masvidal) said, ‘Look, Ben is going to try to hang onto you and wrestle you and clinch you and try to wear you out,’” Paul said. “We were just working on clinch drills and fighting on the inside, and he was trying to show me how to knock out Ben faster than he did. So, we’ll see what happens. I might go running at Ben right in the first two seconds to try to break (Masvidal’s record). But Masvidal is great. He’s very supporting. He’s always been my homie and supported me, and that goes both ways. I’m excited to see if I can knock out Ben faster than Masvidal.”

On the night Paul is expecting to quickly dispatch of Askren.

“I’m expecting a quick knockout,” Paul said. “I don’t see him making it out of the first round. I know he’s tough. I know he’s going to work hard. He can get whoever he wants to train him. People forget that Floyd Mayweather was calling Nate Robinson almost every day to give him tips and advice on boxing, and guess what? Floyd’s not getting in the ring. Freddie Roach is not getting in the ring for Ben. Tyron Woodley isn’t getting in the ring for Ben, and by the way if he did, I would beat the sh*t out of Tyron Woodley. It’s a loser training another loser. He can get whoever he wants. It’s still going to be a quick night. He can train as hard as he wants. It doesn’t matter. My athleticism, my speed, my power, my accuracy is too much for these guys to handle.”

The internet celebrity insists his bold prediction is not out of cockiness or a disregard for Askren’s ability, rather great confidence in his own boxing skills.

“This guy is 19-2 (in MMA), he has less losses than (Conor) McGregor, he’s a two-time NCAA Division wrestling champion, he’s an Olympic athlete,” Paul said of Askren. “I wanted to challenge myself. I know this is a serious opponent. It’s going to be a movie. Eventually I want to fight Conor McGregor – I want to show the MMA world, ‘Be careful before you come over here and try to box us.’ You saw what Floyd did to McGregor. You’re going to see what I do to Askren.”

Do you think Jake Paul will beat Ben Askren on April 17?

Jake Paul Plans Fights With Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz Ahead Of ‘Illustrious Career’

PaulHe may already be preoccupied with an April 17 boxing match against former UFC welterweight contender, Ben Askren, but that hasn’t prevented polarizing YouTuber, Jake Paul from laying out plans for an “illustrious career” – which include future clashes against both Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.  Paul, who is 2-0 as a professional boxer is […]

Paul

He may already be preoccupied with an April 17 boxing match against former UFC welterweight contender, Ben Askren, but that hasn’t prevented polarizing YouTuber, Jake Paul from laying out plans for an “illustrious career” – which include future clashes against both Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. 

Paul, who is 2-0 as a professional boxer is slated to headline a Triller boxing event in two months time, as he draws former Bellator and ONE Championship world champion, Askren into a pay-per-view event matchup. 

Speaking with MMA Junkie recently, Paul claimed that he can envision future fights on the horizon with both former two-weight world champion, McGregor — whom he issued a scathing callout to recently, as well as Stockon puncher, Diaz. 

“We’ll see what happens after this fight (with Askren),” Paul said. “Floyd Mayweather called me out last week. I still think there’s the (Conor) McGregor fight. Nate Diaz said he’s down to fight me. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited. This is just the start of an illustrious career. Ben Askren just happens to be the first on the list.“

“People are going to see,” Paul explained. “They’re going to be surprised, and it’s going to be hard for me to get a fight after this, to be honest. It really is. People are going to see my performances and say, ‘Let’s really second guess ourselves here because, do we want to lose to the Disney channel actor, boxer kid?“

While speaking with ESPN MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani last week, Diaz touched on the subject of a potential boxing match agaisnt the brash, Paul — claiming that a clash would happen “at some point” in the future.

“I think Nate Diaz will probably happen first (next),” Paul said. “I think Conor (McGregor) needs to get some wins under his belt. Conor is owned by Dana White. Conor is Dana White’s bitch, so he has to get Dana White’s approval. Nate Diaz only has two more fights in the UFC (on his current contract), so if he can complete those and he’s freed up then, Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul will happen in 2022. Those are sort of the talks that are happening right now.“

“Once I beat Nate Diaz — once I embarrass him actually, I will be undeniable to McGregor because I will say, ‘Hey, bubba. Listen to me, guy, you little Irish guy: I beat the guy who beat you. So you have to fight me.’ That’s why this is so exciting. It’s one step at a time. It’s one fight at a time. I still have a major milestone ahead of me (on) April 17, and like I said, though, this is the start of an illustrious career. Ten years from now I’ll be coming to watch these interviews, and I’ll be like, ‘Damn, this kid was a little evil genius, predicting all of this.“

Most recently competing on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. back in November — Paul met with former New York Knicks point guard, Nate Robinson, finishing the 36-year-old with a viral, highlight-reel knockout inside two rounds. In January of last year, Paul made his professional boxing debut against fellow YouTuber, AnEsonGib — scoring a knockout win less than two and a half minutes into the opening round on that occasion.