Dana White comments on future of Ben Askren after UFC 239 KO loss
Ben Askren’s undefeated record is no more. At UFC 239 he was taking on Jorge Masvidal in a fight that he wanted and he was saying how he was going to dominate the fight from the get-go.
Yet, that did not happen. Rather, “Gamebred” set a UFC record for the fastest knockout. There, Masvidal ran across the cage to start the fight and landed a flying knee that knocked Askren out cold in just five seconds.
Following the loss, UFC president, Dana White spoke to TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter about what the future of Ben Askren looks like now after the loss.
“I like Ben,” White said of Ben Askren. “We finally got a deal done, he came [to the UFC], we had fun. He’s had a rough, two-fight run in the UFC. What I do love about the kid and respect is he’s not afraid to fight anybody. He’s calling out all the big dogs in the UFC, and was willing to fight anybody.”
Although many now think Jorge Masvidal is next in line for the title shot, White isn’t so sure. Things still have to play out in terms of Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler and he will then decide what should be next for him. Regardless, he was very impressed by Jorge Masvidal.
“The fight just ended, and I wouldn’t create a pecking order [behind Usman] right now,” he said. “[Masvidal] looked good tonight in an amazing performance and the fastest knockout ever. We’ll see what happens. It’s all gonna depend on when is Usman healthy? When is he 100%? When can he go into training camp and start training for a fight? Then we’ll figure out what’s next.”
In terms of Ben Askren, the Olympic wrestler has made a few posts on social media talking about the fight and said it ‘sucked’ which it no doubt did.
