Jorge Masvidal Opens Up On Record KO Win At ‘UFC 239’: It Was ‘Not The Greatest’ Moment In His Career
On Saturday, Jorge Masvidal made UFC history when he took all of five seconds to knock out his erstwhile undefeated opponent, Ben Askren, at UFC 239. It was the fastest knockout victory in the mixed martial arts promotion’s history, and when he was asked to comment on that moment in a recent interview, he explained that it was still “not the greatest” one in his MMA career.
“It was a really good moment because I got to silence a lot of individuals and one in particular that I didn’t like too much,” Masvidal continued as he recalled Saturday night’s shocking knockout on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, per quotes published byMMA Mania.
“People were very high on him. But this is not my proudest moment.”
Later on in the interview, Masvidal told Helwani that he would rather stop talking about Askren for good — to the point where he won’t even be brought up when the time comes for him to tell his future grandchildren about his fighting career.
“I have been fighting some animals for a long, long time. Like I said, he doesn’t get mentioned to the grandkids [when I tell them about] the a**-whoopings I gave out,” he said.
Masvidal’s pointed comments about Askren on Helwani’s podcast did not come without precedent, as he freely talked smack about his UFC 239 opponent shortly after the fight, telling reporters that Askren is “not a threat” and “[doesn’t] belong at this level,” as quoted by Business Insider.
Ben Askren gives health update, talks knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal https://t.co/xUiw8GHxNG
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 8, 2019
A highly-touted signing who won welterweight titles in Bellator and ONE Championship, Ben Askren signed with UFC in November 2018 as part of a talent exchange that sent former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to ONE, as noted by Forbes. Earlier this year, the 34-year-old Askren won his UFC debut at UFC 235, defeating former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler via first-round submission.
Much like in his fight against Lawler, Askren entered UFC 239 as the betting favorite against Jorge Masvidal, according to MMA Junkie. However, Masvidal (34-13 MMA, 11-6 UFC) ended up with the upset victory, dealing Askren (19-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) his first defeat in his mixed martial arts career with a flying knee that dropped him in a matter of seconds.
As speculated by MMA Mania, Masvidal’s big win at UFC 239 could potentially help him secure the first title shot of his UFC career at some point in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, however, he is expected to support his friend and fellow welterweight, Colby Covington, as he faces off against Lawler at UFC on ESPN 5 on August 4.
