Ben Askren has reacted to the news of his former opponent Jorge Masvidal’s upcoming fight against Kamaru Usman.
On Sunday it was announced that the UFC welterweight champion Usman and the ‘BMF’ winner Masvidal will collide at Saturday’s UFC 251 event on Dana White’s Fight Island.
The news came after Gilbert Burns withdrew from his matchup with Usman after testing positive for COVID-19. The UFC responded quickly by tapping Masvidal as a replacement opponent. The promotion made the fight official on Sunday night.
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OFFICIAL. 🏆 🤬 The BMF steps in on six days notice for #UFC251. @VisitAbuDhabi #InAbuDhabi
Jorge Masvidal’s former opponent Ben Askren had an amusing reaction to the anticipated matchup.
The pair first fought in 2019 at UFC 239. “Funky” immediately went for the takedown but the BMF winner counteracted with a flying knee. The perfectly timed move sent Askren crashing to the canvas and achieved a record-shattering victory for Masvidal.
What followed was a string of hilarious memes and gifs that showed Askren as he suffered the first loss of his professional career. The former Bellator champion is aware that with the upcoming Masvidal vs. Usman fight, plenty of videos of his KO loss will resurface on the internet.
Ugh now I gotta see that effing video all over Twitter this week. So annoying
— Ye 2020 (@Benaskren) July 6, 2020
Imagine the most embarrassing moment of your life being replayed incessantly on twitter
— Ye 2020 (@Benaskren) July 6, 2020
“Ugh now I gotta see that effing video all over Twitter this week. So annoying,” Askren wrote on Twitter.
“Imagine the most embarrassing moment of your life being replayed incessantly on Twitter,” he added in a followup Tweet.
Askren fought Demian Maia next in 2019 but lost by rear-naked choke in the third round. Due to his back-to-back losses and some ongoing hip issues, the welterweight announced his retirement from the sport that same year.
Even though Askren suffered a devastating knockout loss that will go down in UFC history, at least it was against a worthy adversary. Now, Masvidal will show if he has what it takes to overthrow the UFC’s current welterweight champion.