Tag: Ben Askren

Twitter Mailbag: What does Michael Chandler’s UFC debut say about Patrico Freire?

After all, the Bellator champ-champ does own a knockout win over Michael Chandler.

Questions on your mind about recent happenings in the UFC or sport of MMA in general? MMA Junkie’s Twitter Mailbag is here – and this week, @mma_kings answers:

  • Seeing how well [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] performed in his UFC debut, does Bellator champ-champ [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] deserve more respect given that he knocked out Chandler?
  • Based on Chandler’s dominant win at UFC 257, does he deserve a lightweight title shot vs. [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag], or does he need one more win?
  • Was the special treatment the UFC gave [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] over the years ultimately detrimental to his MMA career inside the cage?
  • CAN [autotag]BEN ASKREN[/autotag] LEARN TO BOX IN THREE MONTHS?

Watch the video above for answers to those questions.

To ask a question of your own, follow @MMAjunkie on Twitter and let us know.

Michael Chandler predicts boxing success for Ben Askren: ‘Mark my words, I think he finishes Jake Paul’

Speaking to Jim Rome, UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler predicted a late win for Ben Askren over Jake Paul in their boxing match.

[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] has the utmost confidence that [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] will beat [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag].

Former Bellator champion and ex-UFC fighter Askren is scheduled to fight YouTube star Paul in an eight-round boxing match on April 17.

Despite Paul’s inexperience as a boxer, many are befuddled at how Askren, who was known as a standout wrestler throughout his MMA career but not necessarily praised for his striking, has decided to come out of retirement to lace up the gloves and throw down in a boxing ring.

But for Chandler, it comes as no surprise. He thinks too many people are counting Askren out and that there are various factors that could sway things in his favor.

“I think it’s a great idea, No. 1,” Chandler said on a recent episode of “The Jim Rome Show.” “No. 2, Ben Askren is one of the most remarkable human beings in the entire planet. Everybody sees the big ‘fro and the loud voice, just attitude, but Ben is one of the most giving and full-of-humility men I’ve ever met in my entire life. He’s one of the reasons I got into mixed martial arts. He’s a heck of a competitor. The funny thing is, it doesn’t surprise me. If you know Ben well enough, nothing should ever surprise you.

“The man is a wild card; he marches to the beat of his own drum. Now, what I will say about the actual matchup, Jake Paul is not a great boxer. Ben Askren is not a great boxer. Ben Askren, quite frankly, the weakest of his attributes is his ability to strike on the feet. But I think, depending on the referee, depending on the ruleset, depending on how the promotion is set up, Ben is going to be able to get his hands on Jake, do some dirty boxing, some underhooks, some pushing, some pulling.”

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Just like Askren predicted, Chandler thinks “Funky” will be able to drag Paul into deep waters and stop him late. In just two boxing matches, Paul has yet to go past Round 2.

“We’re going to see, and I think Ben may be penalized for it,” Chandler said. “Ben may be pulled off of him, maybe broken up a lot, but you’re going to see Ben close the distance, Ben get his hands on him. You’re going to see Ben wear out Jake Paul because there’s a difference between boxing at distance and throwing punches and having a guy in your face, putting pressure on you, pushing you back up against the ropes. You’ve got to remember, yes it’s boxing, but Ben knows how to move, maneuver and manipulate another human body, his opponent, with his hands.”

“So it’s going to be very interesting to watch the dirty boxing, watch the clinch game, and also watch Ben’s toughness. We saw Ben get knocked out cold, but listen, King Kong himself would have gotten knocked out by that Jorge Masvidal knee. Ben traditionally has a phenomenal chin, a great chin, and the wherewithal to be able to push Jake Paul around the boxing ring for eight three-minute rounds. Mark my words, I think he finishes Jake Paul later in the fight.”

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Ben Askren details ‘cordial’ Dana White granting permission for Jake Paul boxing match

Ben Askren says UFC president Dana White didn’t hesitate to allow him out of his contract to fight Jake Paul in a boxing match.

[autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] says UFC president Dana White didn’t offer any resistance in allowing him an exception in his contract to fight [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] in a boxing match.

Askren, a former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder who retired in early 2020 after going 1-2 in the UFC, is coming back to combat sports this year to fight YouTube star Paul in an eight-round boxing match on April 17.

It’s something Askren is excited to do, he said, because it’s going to provide a seven-figure payday, force him to get back into shape following a hip replacement surgery and, most importantly, give him a chance to silence Paul, who argues is not a “real fighter.”

Before signing on, Askren, who remains under UFC contract, had to receive permission from the organization. His rocky relationship with White in the past has been noteworthy, but he said it was not an issue and the UFC boss didn’t stand in his way.

“He does not seem to like Jake Paul too much, that is seeming to be totally true,” Askren told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “We had a nice phone call. Probably the most cordial phone call Dana and I have ever had. … Both Dana and Hunter (Campbell) were relatively easy. They didn’t really have many complaints. They signed off on pretty much – there was some annoyingness with (promoter) Triller was looking at a whole bunch of different dates, so I had to get a bunch of different dates approved, so that was kind of difficult a little bit, but besides that, everything was all smooth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpwPK6jqsHA

Askren said he’s not going into the bout with Paul with any disillusions. He’s firm in his stance that this is a singular venture, and that he’ll only, “lace up the gloves one time to beat up a YouTube star.”

Opening odds for the matchup list Paul as a slight betting favorite. Askren said he’s not getting too wrapped up in the court of public opinion, but admits he does fight the questions about his durability going into a fight against Paul to be surprising, especially given what he knows about his own experiences through countless hours of training with elite fighters.

“The one thing that is most annoying – and I try to never get annoyed with what people are saying because I know people on the internet are very stupid so I try to kill them with indifference as I learned when Aaron Rodgers says – in my entire MMA career, in all the sparring I’ve done in my career in the gym, I’ve been rocked one time and it was against Jorge Masvidal,” Askren said. “That was it. I never got buckled, I never got clipped, I never got knocked down. The notion that I’m easy to hit or easy to knock down is ridiculous. I don’t think you could say very many fighters that have had 20-plus fights that have never been knocked down or knocked out one time in their entire career.”

During his brief stint on the combat sports scene, Paul has made it abundantly clear there’s no line he’s not willing to cross in terms of pre-fight build up. He’s already walked a fine line with Askren, making multiple mentions of his wife and following her on Instagram.

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Askren said nothing Paul can do has the capability of riling him up, and he’s going to take it all in stride.

“Have you ever seen me get all that upset?” Askren said. “When you realize someone is doing something simply for the sake of trying to (expletive) with you, why would you let him (expletive) with you? That’s about as stupid as it gets.”

Shortly after the fight was announced, Paul made his official prediction of a knockout win in four seconds or less, an attempt at trolling Askren over his infamous five-second loss to Masvidal. Askren came back with a counter-prediction, stating he would win by TKO in the seventh round.

Askren likes the idea of punishing Paul, he said, and showing the YouTube star that there’s a big difference stepping into the ring with someone who – even without any professional boxing fights – has a long history in the combat sports world.

“It’ll probably maybe be relatively competitive in the first couple rounds (until) he starts to slow down and I start to land a lot more punches, a lot of volume,” Askren said. “The seventh round I’m going to TKO him and he’s going to wish he was still a Disney kid star.”

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Mike Bohn talks with Ben Askren about Jake Paul boxing match

Mike Bohn talks with Ben Askren about Jake Paul boxing match

Mike Bohn talks with Ben Askren about Jake Paul boxing match

Jorge Masvidal-Jake Paul training video revealed; Ben Askren unimpressed with ‘freaking dorks’

Yeah, you’re going to be hearing the name Jake Paul for a bit longer, it seems, as the social media sensation prepares to box Ben Askren.

Yeah, you’re going to be hearing the name [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] for a bit longer, it seems.

The social media sensation turned professional boxer today posted training footage with [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], who famously knocked out [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] in just five seconds in their July 2019 encounter at UFC 239. With Paul and Askren slated to box on April 17, Masvidal has taken on the role of trainer against his former opponent.

Paul today posted footage of their work, showing himself mimicking the footwork “Gamebred” used to set up his incredible flying knee but firing in a right hand, instead, and he promised to beat that UFC-record time for Masvidal’s win over Askren (via Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKmDvuHB0s7/?igshid=7u9kfbsmhe07

He knocked out my opponent @benaskren in 5 seconds and now will help me do it in less time.. @gamebredfighter is teaching me his secrets… April 17th the fight will last less than 4 seconds and then we coming for @natediaz209

Askren, who thus far has taken Paul’s incessant taunting largely in stride, quickly took to social media, as well, labeling the pair “freaking dorks” (via Twitter):

With approximately 79 days between now and the pair’s scheduled boxing match (not that we’re counting or anything), you can expect to see more of the same from Paul moving forward. Hopefully Masvidal’s role will diminish moving forward and we can get him booked into that much-anticipated grudge match with Colby Covington, but time will tell.

Oh, and yes, we did read the part about Paul calling out Nate Diaz, as well. But come on. We don’t have to really talk about that do we?

Thank you.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Ben Askren took Jake Paul talking about his wife perfectly in stride

“This is laugh out loud awkward!!!”

In case you haven’t been on Twitter, [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] has the ability to really get under people’s skin just by his mere existence – but especially when he talks trash. [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag], though, is the kind of guy to take it all in stride.

Case in point: During his interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday (which I hate to admit I watched the whole thing), Paul had an all-time cringey moment when he was asked why he follows only the official Triller account and Askren’s wife, Amy, on Instagram.

“She thicc, bro,” Paul said.

“She’s what?” responded Helwani.

“She’s thicc, with lke two c’s – t-h-i-c-c,” Paul repeated. “Thicc like she’s real thicc. So, I don’t know, like, I just thought she’s bad. I don’t know. I mean, maybe after I beat Ben. I don’t know.”

It was one of those moments where you feel so embarrassed for the person, and that seems to be how Askren also took it. On Wednesday, he shared the perfect response by quote-tweeting the clip, which you can check out here:

This is laugh out loud awkward!!! But yes @jakepaul I find my wife very attractive also LOL.

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Bringing up significant others is Paul’s thing apparently. He also invoked Conor McGregor’s fiancee, Dee Devlin, in one of his recent trash-talking videos by insulting her looks – which was just cheap and childish, but whatever. This is what you can expect.

Stuff like this is bound to ramp up as we get closer to April 17, when Paul and Askren fight in an eight-round boxing match. Brace yourself.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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After booking boxing match, Jake Paul and Ben Askren say Dillon Danis fears YouTube star

It was supposed to be Dillon Danis fighting Jake Paul, so why is Ben Askren boxing the YouTube star instead?

It wasn’t long ago that [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] was throwing toilet paper rolls at [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] in a drive-by stunt that appeared staged for the cameras, all to build toward a long-talked about boxing match between the YouTube star and Bellator fighter.

Six weeks later, Paul has a boxing match booked against an MMA fighter, but it’s not Danis he’ll meet inside the ring. Instead, former UFC fighter and welterweight champion of Bellator and ONE Championship [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] will take on Paul in an eight-round match set for pay-per-view on April 17.

Just before the fight was official Tuesday morning, Danis went on Twitter to say “Jake Paul literally ran” from him and called the Askren fight “truly embarrassing.” After the announcement, Danis shared a screen grab of a Jan. 3 direct message exchange with Paul in which he cited a knee injury – Danis had reconstructive surgery last March – for wanting a June date and scoffing at an apparent offer.

“my man your manager literally talks to my manager. dm and email isn’t how business is done, you’re making false claims about offers when i literally talk to my manager and what you’re saying is far from the truth. you know i had a knee injury, nothing i can do about that. i said i want junkie, you know what i bring to the table and you’d be wasting your time fighting anyone else….. june gives you a longer lease on life, enjoy it before i end it”

“the offer that was sent to my manager was pure dog sh*t and you know it”

Paul, however, is calling BS all around.

“I put the biggest offer he’s ever received on the table – seven figures,” Paul told ESPN. “We know he’s probably getting 50 to 100K to fight in Bellator. This is the biggest offer. He lives at his mom’s house. That’s a fact. This guy lives with his mom somewhere in New York or New Jersey. He wanted so badly to fight in the summer, I think because he wanted to have extra months to train because of his ‘knee injury,’ but that knee injury was … literally 15 months ago, so I don’t get how you can still blame that. Plus he’s posting videos of himself sparring on his Instagram. …

“I think legitimately Dillon knows how good my hands are, and he’s trolling, commenting. He knows how to use social media. But when the rubber meets the road, this guy can’t strike, either. He’s a jiu-jitsu guy.”

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Whatever the true reason might be, it ends up being 36-year-old Askren coming out of retirement to make his boxing debut. After hip replacement surgery last year, Askren will fight 24-year-old Paul, who has two professional boxing wins against other celebrities. For his work, Askren said he will make more money than he’s “ever been paid for a single fight.”

At the end of the day, Askren thinks Danis doesn’t want any part of a fight with Paul.

“Dillon Danis is a little b*tch. I think he’s legit scared of Jake Paul,” Askren told ESPN. “I can’t prove that. I have no proof for you. But I’m pretty good at getting feelings in situations. My feeling is that, yes, Jake Paul actually wanted to fight Dillon Danis because he’s a little b*tch, and Dillon Danis is actually scared of Jake Paul legitimately. So I do think I was second pick.”

Danis, famous for helping to train Conor McGregor in jiu-jitsu, has just two pro MMA fights on his record, both submission victories for Bellator. His last win was by first-round armbar over Max Humphrey in June 2019 at Bellator 222.

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Jake Paul predicts he’ll knock Ben Askren out faster than Jorge Masvidal

Jake Paul has made it clear he has no respect for Ben Askren’s boxing skills.

[autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] does not lack in confidence.

The YouTube superstar turned celebrity boxer announced Tuesday his latest venture, an April 17 boxing match against former UFC star and Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag].

Paul also told ESPN he’ll knock Askren out faster than Jorge Masvidal’s famed flying knee at UFC 239.

“I started boxing two years ago and I’m still going to knock his ass out faster than [Jorge] Masvidal,” he said. “These MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. The world complained because I knocked out a basketball player and not a real fighter. So now I’m giving the people what they want by taking on a ‘real fighter.’ After Ben Askren is added to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say?”

[lawrence-related id=584316,584259]

Masvidal, of course, finished Askren in five seconds, while Paul’s most noteworthy moment was a knockout of Nate Robinson, a retired NBA player.

Paul says he respects what Askren accomplished in MMA, but boxing is another thing entirely.

“Askren has 20-something MMA fights has been in there with Robbie Lawler, he’s a tough guy,” he said. “I think anyone would have been knocked out by Masvidal’s knee. That knee that landed would have knocked anyone out. So I think Danis would have been the easiest one by far. But these MMA guys, just because they throw punches they think they can box. This is why I’m confident in my ability to destroy this guys. They have no head movement, they’re slow, they aren’t going to the gym every day and boxing.”

Paul revealed Askren wasn’t his first choice of opponents, saying serious talks were held with a handful of potential suitors.

“We were talking about five or six guys. MMA fighters, some celebrities,” he said. “NFL guys, and when it came down to the ink meeting the paper and green-lighting this and being “let’s do this,” these guys, it turns out a lot of them weren’t as serious as we thought. I think people don’t like to give me props for my boxing ability, but deep down people are like ‘damn, this kid’s here to fight, and Ben Askren was the only one who was serious about it, and wanted to make it happen and was ready to go.

“Kudos to him but there were guys like Dillon Danis who was all over social media who I threw muddy, piss-filled toilet paper at his face. People wanted that fight. People wanted me to fight Ben Askren. People wanted me to fight McGregor. People wanted me to fight Diaz, and I think all of those fights will happen eventually, but Dillon Danis claimed a knee injury. Conor McGregor just lost. Nate Diaz is tied up by the UFC.”

At the end of the day, Askren was the one who stepped up, and Paul is glad to have the opportunity.

“Ben Askren was the only one that was ready to go, and he has less losses than McGregor and he’s a legit fighter who finished 12 people in his professional career and so for me it’s a perfect fight because people wanted to see me fight a real fighter.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0yB46ar8Pc

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Video: Ak, Barak: Is Jake Paul wise to fight Ben Askren?

Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, will face retired MMA fighter Ben Askren on April 17. Askren is the first experienced Paul (2-0) will have faced in his young career as a pugilist. Will Askren be too much for him? Or is Paul advanced enough on …

Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, will face retired MMA fighter Ben Askren on April 17.

Askren is the first experienced Paul (2-0) will have faced in his young career as a pugilist. Will Askren be too much for him? Or is Paul advanced enough on the learning curve to compete with his latest opponent?

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show. DAZN commentators Akin Reyes and Barak Bess discuss Paul decision to take on Askren and what they expect to happen in the ring.

Here’s what they had to say.

The Ak & Barak Show is available on DAZN and Sirius XM Fight Nation, Channel 156.

[jwplayer XPebwx6O]

Video: Ak, Barak: Is Jake Paul wise to fight Ben Askren?

Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, will face retired MMA fighter Ben Askren on April 17. Askren is the first experienced Paul (2-0) will have faced in his young career as a pugilist. Will Askren be too much for him? Or is Paul advanced enough on …

Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, will face retired MMA fighter Ben Askren on April 17.

Askren is the first experienced Paul (2-0) will have faced in his young career as a pugilist. Will Askren be too much for him? Or is Paul advanced enough on the learning curve to compete with his latest opponent?

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show. DAZN commentators Akin Reyes and Barak Bess discuss Paul decision to take on Askren and what they expect to happen in the ring.

Here’s what they had to say.

The Ak & Barak Show is available on DAZN and Sirius XM Fight Nation, Channel 156.

[jwplayer XPebwx6O]