Ben Askren News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 25, 2019

Dan Hardy believes a potential matchup between Ben Askren and Demian Maia is quite intriguing. Askren is coming off the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career. He was knocked out in five seconds courtesy of Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee. This set a record for the fastest knockout in UFC history. Meanwhile, Maia is coming off a majority decision victory over Anthony Rocco Martin.

Christopher Taylor - July 23, 2019

Ben Askren (19-1 MMA) suffered the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career earlier this month at UFC 239. Askren was knocked out cold just five seconds into the opening round, this after eating a brutal flying knee from his opponent Jorge Masvidal.

Mike Heck - July 18, 2019

Kevin Lee certainly doesn’t see a scenario where a matchup with Ben Askren would be all that competitive. Now that “The Motown Phenom” has had a taste of the welterweight division — and with plans to stay at 170-pounds — a fight between him and Askren is something that could be on the table. With both fighters coming off of a loss, the matchup certainly makes sense. Sprinkle in some back-and-forth at the UFC 236 seasonal press conference and you have a storyline to build off of.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2019

Tito Ortiz doesn’t appear to think too highly of Ben Askren. Askren entered the UFC with a ton of hype. Having won Bellator and ONE Championship gold and being a former Olympic wrestler, many thought “Funky” had a good shot at success on the biggest mixed martial arts stage. There’s still time for Askren to make his mark, but a devastating flying knee KO defeat to Jorge Masvidal has at least served as a bump in the road.

Jordy McElroy - July 16, 2019

The shuttering quake from comatose welterweight star Ben Askren crashing to the canvas in record-breaking time at UFC 239 could be felt from Nevada to Singapore, where former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was shipped off to in a historic trade less than a year ago. Not even the Richter scale is capable of measuring the size of those tremors, which opened up cracks in the reasoning Johnson was ever traded in the first place. That isn’t to suggest Ben Askren in the UFC hasn’t been entertaining. It has been a rollercoaster ride and cotton candy rolled into one. He talks the talk and walks the walk against the toughest guys in the UFC; guys that boast the kind of knockout power to alter careers with a single strike.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 15, 2019

Stephen Thompson certainly isn’t one to talk trash, but he isn’t down on Jorge Masvidal’s UFC 239 post-fight celebration. There was some bad blood going into the UFC 239 main card bout between Masvidal and Ben Askren. “Gamebred” made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of Askren, while “Funky” kept poking the bear. Askren even suggested that Masvidal wasn’t secure in his own masculinity.

Chris Taylor - July 13, 2019

Jorge Masvidal needed only 5-seconds to hand Ben Askren the first professional loss of his mixed martial arts career at UFC 239 last weekend in Las Vegas. ‘Gamebred’ was able to connect with a flying knee just seconds into the opening frame, which sent ‘Funky’ crashing to the canvas in a state of unconsciousness.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 12, 2019

Chael Sonnen is impressed with the way Ben Askren has faced the music. Askren entered the UFC with substantial hype. He was part of the UFC’s trade with ONE Championship. In exchange for Demetrious Johnson, Askren was sent over to the most recognized mixed martial arts promotion. “Funky” had a successful, albeit controversial, debut against Robbie Lawler back in March. He submitted Lawler in the first round. In his second UFC bout, Askren was flattened in a record-setting five seconds via flying knee courtesy of Jorge Masvidal.

Cole Shelton - July 10, 2019

Jorge Masvidal is now a UFC record holder. At UFC 239, “Gamebred” took on Ben Askren. To start the fight, he ran across the cage and landed a perfectly placed flying knee that knocked his foe out cold. The official time of the knockout was five seconds, which is still the record. But, as Joe Rogan pointed on the broadcast, had the ref gotten in position faster, it could have very well been two or three seconds.

Cole Shelton - July 9, 2019

Ben Askren suffered the first professional loss of his career at UFC 239. There, Jorge Masvidal knocked out “Funky” with a flying knee just five seconds into the fight. The nasty strike kept the Olympic wrestler unconscious for quite a while. In Askren’s corner was his coach, Duke Roufus who admits it was scary to see that happen. Although he knows the loss sucks, the coach has to give credit where credit is due. He knows the flying knee was a risky move by Masvidal and knows had he been one second earlier or later, the fight could have gone totally different.

Thomas Taylor - July 9, 2019

Over the weekend, former ONE Championship welterweight king Ben Askren experienced his first professional loss, succumbing to a flying knee just five seconds into a UFC 239 bout with Jorge Masvidal. Speaking on Facebook on Tuesday, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong shared his take on the former ONE Champ’s first taste of defeat.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 9, 2019

Chael Sonnen was concerned for Ben Askren after Jorge Masvidal finished him in just five seconds. Askren vs. Masvidal took place at UFC 239 in Las Vegas. It had been dubbed as the “people’s main event,” and it certainly delivered in terms of the highlight reel and record books. Masvidal sprinted at Askren immediately and landed a flying knee that put “Funky” to sleep. The five-second finish broke the UFC record for fastest knockout.

Tom Taylor - July 9, 2019

Jorge Masvidal made very short work of his nemesis Ben Askren, flattening the former ONE and Bellator champ with a flying knee just five seconds into their UFC 239 fight. While this decisive outcome initially looked like it would put an end to the beef between Masvidal and Askren, it’s become clear that there’s still some bad blood between them.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 8, 2019

Former UFC fighter Kenny Florian praises Jorge Masvidal for taking a big risk and having it pay off. It’s not often that fighters at the highest of levels in mixed martial arts start a fight by charging at their opponent. Not since the late Kid Yamamoto did it back in 2006 have we seen an elite MMA fighter pull it off to almost instant success. That’s exactly what Masvidal did when he iced Ben Askren with a flying knee in just five seconds at UFC 239.

Mike Pendleton - July 8, 2019

Following his record-setting knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239, Ben Askren doesn’t sound ready to stop fighting. Askren suffered his first professional MMA loss to Masvidal this past weekend, and on Monday he provided an update on his fighting future. During an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Ben Askren was asked if he has plans to keep fighting following his loss, and he responded with a quick “yes”.

Tom Taylor - July 8, 2019

Over the weekend, Ben Askren found himself on the wrong end of the new record for the fastest KO in UFC history, succumbing to a Jorge Masvidal flying knee just five seconds into their UFC 239 scrap. Less than 48 hours removed from this violent knockout loss, the former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show to give his take on the way things went down.

Tom Taylor - July 8, 2019

When Jorge Masvidal knocked Ben Askren unconcious with a flying knee in just five seconds at UFC 239, he left thousands of onlookers in shock. That includes UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who was in the middle of an interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter at the time. See how Adesanya reacted to this highlight reel knockout below:

Tom Taylor - July 8, 2019

Former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren experienced the first loss of his professional MMA career at UFC 239, and in highlight reel fashion. The wrestler was switched off by a devastating Jorge Masvidal flying knee just five seconds into their main card encounter. It was the fastest knockout in UFC history.