“Even a Retired GSP Wanted to Fight Him”: Fans Back Ben Askren as He Opens Up on “Totally” Messing Jorge Masvidal Fight

Former UFC star Ben Askren is most notably remembered for being on the receiving end of Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee strike which became the fastest knockout in the history of the promotion. He has opened up about his embarrassing loss in his memoir ‘Funky: My Defiant Path Through The Wild World of Combat Sports.’

Ben Askren is a highly-decorated NCAA wrestler who had an 87-match winning streak at the end of his amateur wrestling career. He finished his MMA career with a UFC record of 19 wins and 2 losses. He never managed to capture any UFC title. His only UFC moment came when he was awarded the ‘Fight of the Night’ honor for his match against Demian Maia. He has opened up about his loss to Jorge Masvidal and how he “messed it up.”

Ben Askren wrote in his book that the way he lost to ‘Gamebred’ wasn’t the most ideal way to lose a fight. He said, “That loss, it’s obviously not ideal. But it happened. I don’t let it consume me.” He also mentions that he was not allowed to fight while he was undefeated.

But when he got to fight, he just needed one win to earn a title shot. He said, “I was undefeated, I was kept out of the UFC by Dana White, and I finally broke in. All I had to do was beat Jorge Masvidal to get a title shot. And I totally messed it up.”

Fans show their support for Ben Askren

The r/MMA subreddit shared a post concerning Askren’s address to his embarrassing loss against Jorge Masvidal. Many fans backed ‘Funky’ and believed that his career was over before he faced the former BMF champion. Some fans also commended him for taking the loss with great sportsmanship.

Here are some of the reactions from Reddit users:

• Ben was done by the time he came to the UFC. At a certain pont even a retired GSP wanted to fight him to test himself against Ben.
• Yea askren is a f*cking G for that one. Master class on how to take an L. I’m jealous you got to go with Chandler to buy shirts out of his trunk lmao. He would do some shit like that.
• Masvidal should be thanking Askren. That fight made him famous.
• I find it very hard not to like Ben Askren as a person.
• Askren is an absolute master of ‘not giving a f*ck’.
• Askren handled that loss way better than George handled getting molested by Colby for 25 minutes
• Considering everything, Askren really handled this loss well. As well as anyone could.

Some fans also claimed that Ben Askren is hard to be hated. His calm demeanor has made him one of the most likable fighters in the UFC’s history. There were also some people who claimed that Masvidal should be thankful to Askren because that Knockout made him famous.

READ MORE: “You Don’t Get the Revenue Share” – Michael Bisping Exposes “Full of Sh*t” Jake Paul’s MMA Move

Many people feel like Ben Askren’s UFC career might have been a disappointment. Despite having a good UFC record, he could never capture the championship gold. What are your thoughts on Ben Askren’s UFC career? Drop your comments below.

WATCH THIS STORY:Everything to know about Royce Gracie